


Crimson Fallout

by stardustkr7



Series: YJ: Since maybe last spring [3]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-09
Updated: 2014-02-09
Packaged: 2018-01-11 19:10:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1176807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustkr7/pseuds/stardustkr7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Since Maybe Last Spring and Intuition. They won the invasion, but at what cost? Barbara, Dick and their friends are attempting to return to their normal lives. But new rising vigilantes and cruel socialite gossip start to complicate their lives again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dick Grayson awoke to a pair of bright blue eyes staring right at him.

He blinked, slowly comprehending that the sparkling irises belonged to his girlfriend, Barbara Gordon, currently nose to nose from him, with a smile on her face.

“Morning, handsome,” she greeted, kissing the corner of his mouth.

“Morning, babe,” he replied sleepily.

He closed his eyes; it was so bright in his room. She moved next to him and he felt her hand rest on his chest while her lips brushed his shoulder. It was nice. He decided he might just sleep a little more with her in his arms.

“Wake up, Dick.”

He blinked again, turning his head to glance at the clock.  _9:37_.

“Isn’t it Saturday?”

“Mmhmm,” she replied.

“It’s early for a Saturday. Let’s sleep,” he decided, dragging an arm around her waist.

“Come on, it’s a beautiful day out. The sun is shining. It’s summer. The world isn’t in peril. And I’ve hardly seen you this whole week,” Barbara said with a slight pout.

“You’re welcome to look at me while I’m sleeping.”

She swatted at him playfully. “Let’s go outside. Like, we’ll go for a run, while it’s still cool out. Come on, Dick.”

“Babs…”

“Dick … you need to go outside more, honey. I worry about you,” she said gently.

“I’m outside all the time.”

“At night. During the day you hole up in here. You need to get some sun. It’s been over a month … And exercise will do you good.”

He swallowed, not wanting to get into another discussion about his deteriorating habits. Lately, she was one of the only bright parts of his life anymore and he just didn’t want to push her away.

“If you want exercise we could just stay inside and have sex,” he said, looking at her and raising an eyebrow, attempting humor. He was starting to give up on the idea of getting to sleep in on a weekend for once.

“Hmm, maybe later. I want to go outside,” she said, pecking him lightly on the cheek before pulling away.

Barbara sat up at the edge of the bed, stretching her arms above her head and allowing him an excellent view of her curves. Only in her underwear, she stood and began moving around, sorting through the various accumulations of her clothes in his room. “I could have sworn I left a sports bra here somewhere,” she muttered. “Aha! Come on, Dick, get up and go for a run with me,” she added, when she realized he had not moved but was instead watching her get dressed.

He reluctantly sat up. “Do you even have running shoes here?”

“I think they’re by the door. Get dressed,” she said, tossing him a pair of shorts before disappearing into the bathroom.

Short of literally digging in his heels and refusing to go, there really wasn’t any way out of this, Dick decided as he pulled himself out of bed. And really, the past week had been pretty busy, for her at least. Taking on so much responsibility with the Team cut into a lot of her free time, but Barbara never complained to him. She knew he needed the break. He began mimicking her search around the room for suitable running clothes and came to realize something.

Barbara had a lot of her stuff here in his apartment.

They had already both acknowledged that things between them moved really fast. They hadn’t even technically been together for little more than six months. But they had always been so close before as friends with that potential to be more, there was hardly any of the awkwardness of getting to actually know the person you were dating. He did know her, completely.

And every time he stepped in the door and saw her shoes, he was kind of contented to know she was there waiting for him. Or he would see a tube of lipstick on the bathroom counter and be reminded of her amazingly soft, full lips. She was a lot neater than he was sometimes; she recently worked some sort of magic on his coffee maker (“I just ran vinegar through it; it’s not rocket science, Hunk Wonder”) and now it produced an actually drinkable French roast. 

He sat down on his bed (more like their bed now) and began tying his trainers when she finally emerged and it reminded him that she even had a toothbrush in his bathroom.

“Ready?” she asked brightly, pulling her hair into a pony tail.

“Yeah, I’ll be right out,” he said with a smile. She returned it and skipped out of the room to put on her shoes.

************

* * *

 

“So, where do you normally run here?” Barbara asked, squinting slightly as they stood on the sidewalk in front of his building.

“There’s a park about a half mile that way that has a good trail,” he said, pointing down the street a ways.

“Lead the way.”

They took off at an easy pace, slow enough to still have a conversation. He tried to stay mindful of her smaller stride. For a while they just chatted. Cases, classes, the team, gossip.

“What’s up? You have the look on your face like you want to say something but you aren’t sure how to word it yet,” Barbara observed as they reached the park and started along the trail.

“Move in with me,” Dick said abruptly.

“What?” She almost tripped over her feet but managed to regain her balance before she could face plant.

“Why don’t you just move in with me. Completely. I mean, you’re always over here anyway,” he reasoned once he was sure she wasn’t going to tip over at his words.

“Well, yeah, but …are you sure? I mean, my stuff would be all over the place,” she said, completely taken aback at his suggestion.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Babs, come on. If someone were to walk into my apartment the way it is, they would already assume we live together. I mean, you’ve put your shampoo in my shower. There’s a box of tampons under the bathroom sink. I’m always coming across your underwear in my laundry. Not to mention the voodoo magic you did to make my coffee maker stop brewing mud.”

She was blushing at his words but then rolled her eyes. “I still can’t believe you didn’t know how to clean those things.”

“Alfred makes things clean but you never actually catch him cleaning. He’s sneakier than Bruce,” Dick protested. “Anyway, you practically live here half the time.”

“I don’t know, Dick. It’s kind of a big step, isn’t it? And wouldn’t I just cramp your bachelor pad independence? Don’t you want the personal space?”

“I don’t think either of us have ever been good at personal space,” he pointed out. “It’s just silly for you to go back and forth, staying in Gotham half the week and staying here the other half.”

“I work and go to school in Gotham.”

“Yes, but you mostly just stay there when you have an early class, right? Or after a late patrol. But semester is over, right? No more early classes?”

“Yes. I mean, I’m doing some summer classes but none of them start before ten. But there’s still my job at the library that I’d have to drive into town for. Not to mention night work,” she added, frowning.

“Listen, Babs, forget the logistics of it for a second.”

Barbara looked over at him as though he had suggested she stop breathing for a minute. He slowed to a stop and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I should have worded it differently. Would you consider moving in with me? Officially?”

She hesitated. “I would consider it, yes. But it’s not that easy. That would be a forty minute drive every day …”

“Thirty if you’re Bruce,” he quipped, grinning. She hadn’t said no, technically.

They started jogging again, falling quiet as other runners passed them.

“I don’t know if I could even afford it. I mean, I know you would, but I’m not going to just let you pay my share of rent and living expenses,” she finally said, biting her lip.

“Babs, I own the building,” he said, shaking his head.

“Oh. Right.”

“My gear is all downstairs. Free rent is one of the perks involved when you’re sleeping with the landlord.”

She shot him a slightly exasperated look.

“Listen, this is all just stuff we can easily work out. I want you here. And judging by how often you are here, I’m assuming you want to be here too. Babs, not too long ago, you asked me what was most important to me. And after everything that happened … I need you in my life. It’s just too short for people like us to start second guessing ourselves … I guess, just, promise me you’ll think about it?” They reached the end of the path, which had looped around the whole park, and ended up back on the street.

“Okay, I’ll think about it,” she promised, smiling. “Race you back home?”

He grinned, wondering if she said the word home on purpose.

They took off racing along the sidewalk. Although he had the advantage of a longer stride, Dick tended to get distracted by all of the terrain to jump and do flips off of. And Barbara had always been so quick and light and a much better sprinter. She laughed when he did a flip off of a low brick wall, narrowly avoiding colliding into her.

By the time they arrived back at his building, they were both out of breath and grinning. It had been so long since she had seen that beautiful smile of his.

“Call it a tie?” he panted.

“Whatever, I so beat you, Grayson,” she retorted.

“Come on, have I ever actually shown you what’s down here?” Dick led her around the other side of the building, away from the stairs leading to his loft apartment, to an intimidating metal door. There was a padlock latching it closed. He opened a small door that blended into the cinderblock of the wall revealing a keypad, into which he entered a long series of digits.

“Do I get to know the code to your man cave?” she asked, smirking slightly as he unlocked the pad lock and opened the door.

“I’ll let you guess it. I’ll even give you a hint. It’s three birthdays,” he said, allowing her to go inside before shutting the door, leaving them in darkness momentarily. “If you enter the codes wrong, it sends me an alert then goes into complete lockdown of the whole room.”

She couldn’t see what exactly he had done but it must have involved flipping a light switch since the lights suddenly illuminated the garage.

Along the whole back wall was his collection of Nightwing bird-a-rangs, escrima sticks, and other gear. His car and the motorcycle with the bright blue insignia took up some space. And on the far wall was a set of free weights, which he wandered over to.

“With a bit of rearranging, we could definitely fit your bat-cycle in here. And most of your spare Batgirl gear,” he was saying as he began adding weights to one of the bars.

“Hmm,” Barbara said distractedly, still wandering around the room, now observing the security camera monitors displaying the door they had just entered and the bay doors in front of the building.

Feeling surprisingly energized after their run, Dick went about lifting weights while she finished her turn around the room.

“Is there a way down here from the apartment?” she asked, now joining him over by the gym area.

“Not yet, was thinking about doing that next.”

“You should have a bookcase or something in front of the doorway and then a pole to slide down here,” she said, grinning and selecting hand weight to casually do a few arm curls.

He finished a set of bench presses and replaced the bar before allowing himself to laugh. “That would be awesome and totally not clichéd at all,” he agreed getting up and moving to another set of equipment.

 She sat down on the bench he had just vacated, lost in thought for a moment until she realized exactly what she was staring at. It had been a while since she had really watched him work out and she suddenly appreciated what a mistake that was. Subconsciously, she bit her lip, watching as his knees bent and his muscles flexed as he did a perfect squat with a heavily laden bar across his broad shoulders. His shirt was already sticking to him from sweat and oh dear, his ass was fine.  _If I move in, I’m making a rule that he’s only allowed to lift weights naked_ , she caught herself thinking as the heat pooled in her abdomen.

Abruptly, she stood up, wrenching her eyes away from him. No need to jump him while he was trying to get a few reps in.

He must have noticed her sudden movement; she heard him replace the bar and say, “Seen enough of the Nightwing cave?”

“Something like that,” Barbara said vaguely, as they moved back to the door.

Upstairs, he only seemed to torment her more when he bent over in front of the open fridge, searching for a couple bottles of water. She couldn’t help but lean on the counter and let out an appreciative “hmm.”

“What was that, Babs?” He straightened up, handing her the water and uncapping his.

“Um, thank you for getting up and going for a run with me,” she said quickly. Her imagination was still working on the vision of him lifting weights with significantly less clothing.

“You’re welcome.” He paused for a minute, noting how her eyes were definitely not on his face. “You’re staring.”

Barbara bit her lip, setting aside her water, and then stepped towards him, her decision made. “You’re hot,” she said simply, running her hands slowly up his abdomen and chest. She pulled him into a kiss, feeling his hands lightly rub at her sides.

“Babs, I’m kind of all sweaty right now …” he said against her lips.

“Don’t care,” she murmured, pressing up against him and kissing him soundly again. “Watching you lift was such a turn on,” she added.

“Really?” He grinned.

“Yes, so you’re partially responsible here. Now, come on. This lust for your incredible body isn’t going to take care of itself.” She took his hand, walking backwards and leading him towards the bedroom.

“Being a mature adult, it’s only right that I take responsibility for my actions,” he agreed, pulling her back to him and picking her up, letting her legs lock around his waist. She took the opportunity to kiss him again, her lips moving from his mouth, along the faint stubble on his jaw, to gently sucking at his throat, before she was all but tossed on the bed.

“Dick,” she whined, frustrated when he didn’t immediately join her. He knelt before her, taking the time to remove their shoes and socks, then slowly kissed up her leg until he reached her shorts. She sighed when he pushed up her shirt and continued kissing at her taught, flat stomach. She relished in the feeling of his mouth all over her until he pulled away so she could sit up and take off her shirt and sports bra. His lips were on her body again almost immediately.

Barbara moaned as he kissed and licked at her, reaching to pull his shirt up and off. He pulled away and tossed it aside. She gazed at him; his body was this glorious sort of conjuncture of strong muscles on a tall, lean frame. He wore it well.

“Babs, you’re so beautiful,” he told her before kissing her hotly again.

He began peeling off her shorts and then her underwear, already damp from her arousal. She was panting when he pulled away to speak again.

“You know, I really wasn’t kidding earlier when I said these turn up in my laundry all the time. Like, your other clothes make it through too but I’m always shocked at sheer volume of your panties. I mean, how many of these do you have? Do you even miss all of them?” he wondered, the small, lacy garment dangling from one finger.

“Dammit, Dick, I swear, if you are more interested in solving that mystery right now, then I have no problem finishing this myself,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Relax, Babe,” he said, taking her hand before it could reach its destination and bringing her palm to his lips. She moaned again as he kissed the inside of her wrist then leaned over her again, tossing her underwear aside. “I am very interested in making you feel good,” he said in her ear.

She gasped as his other hand expertly teased at her heat and her hands scrambled at pulling off his own shorts at last. He hooked one of her legs over his shoulder, lightly kissing her knee, making her quiver with anticipation.

“Oooh, yes,” she groaned as he pushed inside her at an achingly slow pace. “Oh, mmm, more, Dick …” She gave a little thrust of her hips and watched as his jaw tightened as he slid in a little deeper.

He paused, completely sheathed, leaning over her with a hand braced on the headboard and his other arm hooked under her knee. “Umh, Babs,” he breathed. “You’re so …” He broke off in a moan as she moved against him.

“Faster, Grayson. Or do I have to take over from here?” she commanded, gripping at his hip.

He slowly started moving, in and out, speeding up as she began breathily moaning his name along with other words like “deeper”, “faster”, “fuck”, and “yessss!” Everything she uttered just sounded ten times hotter when it passed her lips, when she was writhing with pleasure beneath him.

“Mhmm, so close …”

“Come on, Babe,” he coaxed her, picking up his pace ever so slightly until she clenched around him. It was difficult most of the time to focus on lasting longer after she had come once. He loved watching her skin flush and her hands grasp and her face scrunch up in an expression of pure ecstasy. With another thrust and a groan (“oh, fuck, Babsss ..”) he finished and wearily lay down next to her.

She leaned over to press a kiss to his lips and said softly, “I love you.”

His hand caressed her cheek as he replied, “I love you too, Babs.”

She rested her forehead on his, eyes closed as they tried to catch their breath.

His stomach growling loudly ruined the moment nicely.

“Hungry?” Barbara giggled.

Dick nodded, turning slightly pink. “Sorry, we’ve been up for hours, exercising.”

“Come on, let’s take a shower then have some breakfast,” she decided, pulling away from him and leading the way into the bathroom.

*********

* * *

 

“So, what are you up for?” he asked as they reentered the kitchen almost half an hour later, dressed and showered.

“Oh, there should be pancake mix up there,” said Barbara, searching for a large pan and mixing bowl. “I’ll make blueberry pancakes.”

“I don’t know if I have blueberries,” said Dick, confusedly, handing her the box of mix.

“I got some the other day, look in the fridge,” she instructed. “I thought one night we could have chocolate covered strawberries but the blueberries were on sale too so I got those …” she trailed off, concentrating on measuring the powder precisely.

He located and retrieved the carton. “Babs,” he said amusedly, “you realize you’ve already been buying groceries for my kitchen, right?”

“What? No, don’t be silly. I just pick up a few things every now and then. I mean, sometimes I know you probably won’t make it to the store for a few days and I do eat your food so it just makes sense to buy more,” she rambled, stirring in water.

Dick just grinned annoyingly at her.

“Dick, just stop, okay? You said I could think about it. Well, my mind has been preoccupied this morning,” she said firmly, waving a spoon at him.

“Alright, alright,” he said, putting his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “Take as long as you need. I’ll just stop pointing out that you practically live here already.”

“Thank you. Now make yourself useful and make some coffee?”

“Sure, honey,” he said, kissing her cheek.

Surprisingly, she was the one who brought up the subject again just a few minutes later.

“But see, here’s the thing,” she said.

He stuffed a large bite of syrup drenched pancake in his mouth and looked at her curiously.

“I mean, another reason why I’m not sure, right away. But it has nothing to do with you or how I’d feel about living with you but it’s not just a logistics thing we can work out easily, I think,” she went on.

“And the thing is?” he prodded.

“My dad.”

Dick raised an eyebrow. “What, like you think he’d disapprove? It’s a little late for that, I think.”

“No, he would be fine with it. I mean, I would also feel bad leaving him alone. It’s part of the reason why I haven’t moved out yet, despite being an adult and going to college. The other reason is that I can’t afford it. But if I come live with you, I’m just worried he won’t be able to take care of himself. He works so hard at taking care of the city. I have to remind him to eat healthy and see the doctor and take it easy,” Barbara elaborated.

“I understand,” he said smiling slightly.

“Do you?”

“Babs, I too have a father who is completely incapable of taking care of himself. The only difference is, mine’s fortunate enough to have a secret-agent-medic-chef-butler,” said Dick, inclining his head in a nod. “But you know, Bludhaven is just down the river from Gotham. It’s not like I’m asking you to move across the state.”

“I guess you have a point. But I still need to make sure he’ll be okay before I can really say yes,” she added.

“Why don’t we take him out to dinner tonight?”

“Okay,” she agreed, taking a sip of her coffee.

 ****************

* * *

 

 “Hi, Daddy!” said Barbara, standing up to give her father a hug after he had found their table at the restaurant.

“Sweetheart, thanks for the invitation,” he said.

Dick stood as well, leaning over to shake his hand. “It’s good to see you, sir.”

“You too, son,” said Jim in a friendly tone.

They made pleasant small talk until the waitress arrived, looking expectantly at the eldest member of the table. The commissioner opened his mouth to speak but Barbara quickly interrupted him.

“He would like the chicken pasta, hold the creamy sauce. Make sure the chicken is grilled, not fried, and use extra virgin olive oil, not canola or vegetable oil. Whole wheat pasta and fresh streamed vegetables on the side. And the vinaigrette salad to start,” she said.

“Am I allowed a scotch?” Jim muttered grimly.

“No, but bring him a glass of red wine, please,” she added nodding at the waitress who was scribbling furiously. “Red wine has antioxidants.”

“Of course, miss. And what will the other sir be having?” She looked at Barbara cautiously, as though expecting her to be ordering for the whole table.

“I don’t know. Dick, sweetie, tell her what you want,” said Barbara dismissively, consulting her own menu again.

A few minutes later, after the bewildered waitress left their table, Jim chuckled. “Don’t worry son, I’m sure one day she’ll be ordering your dinner for you too,” he said to Dick.

“I don’t doubt that,” he agreed, smiling slightly.

The commissioner was brought his wine and the group fell silent. Barbara and Dick traded looks.

_You go._

_No, you, this was your idea!_

_He’s your dad!_

“Well?” said Jim expectantly.

Dick looked slightly abashed at their silent conversation being discovered but Barbara blurted out, “Dick asked me to move in with him, in Bludhaven.”

“I didn’t think you would actually ask my permission,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“Its not so much asking your permission,” she began uneasily.

Jim hesitated then lowered his voice. “You’re not … in trouble, are you, Barb?”

“What … no! No, Dad, it’s nothing like that!”

He sat back and regarded the pair of them. Dick was watching her earnestly.

“I can’t say I wasn’t expecting something like this to happen soon. Is this what you want sweetheart?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation and Dick couldn’t help but smile. “It is what we both want. But I need to know you’ll be okay. If I leave, you have to promise you’ll take of yourself, Dad.”

Slightly taken aback, Jim said, “Of course. You don’t need to worry about me. I trust you to make smart decisions. You’ve been acting like a mature adult for far longer than you’ve actually been one, Barbara. Both of you,” he added.

Barbara relaxed a little. “It’s just down river a little, not very far at all. And it’s not like I’ll never be in Gotham.”

“It’s true, we’ll actually be here a lot, I’m sure. I mean, I’m still doing work in Bruce’s office,” Dick finally piped up.

The tension started to dissipate. Why had she been so worried? Her father was reasonable. He wasn’t going to fall apart. And she would still be around to visit.

They comfortably finished their meal and by dessert (“No, Dad, you can have the raspberry sorbet, not the chocolate cheesecake”) Barbara felt like she could leave the table to visit the ladies room. She knew they would talk about her but she was confident it wasn’t going to be a confrontation. Her father and her boyfriend had always got along well.

“So, when are you planning on asking her?” said Jim, leaning back and observing the young man across the table.

“Uh, sir?”

“Don’t play stupid with me, son. What’s your plan?”

There really was no getting one past Jim Gordon, Dick decided with a sigh.

“Probably not for a year or so. I know she would want to finish school first. And things have picked up with the team since she’s become one of the leaders,” he said quietly.

“Hm, I see.” The corner of his mouth twitched, almost like he was holding back a smile.

“Do you … I mean, would you …”

“Give my blessing?” Jim fixed him with a look that made most rookie cops wet themselves. Dick fidgeted slightly under his gaze but didn’t blink. “Of course I would.”

Dick visibly relaxed. “Thank you, sir.”

“You say you’re still working with your old man? Going to continue that after college?”

“I don’t know. It’s more of been a necessity, to be able to run the company in his absence. But business isn’t really my thing,” said Dick honestly.

“No, I didn’t think so. You would make a good detective. When you’re ready to go to the Academy, I’ve got contacts in Bludhaven,” he said, nodding.

“Um, wow, thanks.”

 ************* 

* * *

 

Jim Gordon stood by the Bat signal that night, conversing with the hero himself. He lit his pipe and took a deep puff.

“It’s good to have you back, Batman,” he said, nodding.

“Batgirl did satisfactory job in my absence,” Batman acknowledged.

“Yes,” said Jim vaguely. “How about a wager, Batman?”

“On what?”

“I bet your son will propose to my daughter in a year.”

Batman smirked. “Jim, I know my son. And I am not stupid enough to take that bet,” he remarked before disappearing, leaving the commissioner chuckling on the rooftop.

Things were definitely looking up.


	2. Part Two

“Third one this week,” remarked the detective.

Batgirl stood off to the side of the crime scene next to Renee Montoya as the CSU carefully gathered evidence from the alleyway where the three bodies were found.

“Gang members, just like the other murders,” Batgirl confirmed. Nightwing was standing just inside the police tape, getting a closer look.

“Pythons. Got the tattoos on their necks,” said Renee.

“He’s not particular about which gang he targets,” Batgirl observed.

“We don’t know for sure it’s the same guy. Haven’t found shell casings and the bullet holes only look like a similar caliber.”

“It has to be the same guy. The MO is the same,” said Nightwing, now joining them. “Once you’ve identified them, I’m sure you’ll find they’re wanted for the same standard of crime the last murder victims were.”

“So someone is picking off bad guys that they know the world would not miss. Gordon will not like this. He’s barely able to keep the pressure off of you guys. If there’s another vigilante running around killing people, it’s not going to look good,” said the detective, folding her arms sternly.

Batgirl and Nightwing glanced at each other.

“We’re working on it but just because we’re vigilantes doesn’t mean we have a special hotline to all other vigilantes,” Nightwing pointed out.

“All the same, maybe you kids should lay low, just in case this gets blown out of proportion,” she said, her look softening slightly.

“Thanks, detective,” said Batgirl, touching the other woman’s shoulder in a friendly gesture. “If you guys think of anything else, well, you know the Commissioner knows how to get ahold of us.”

They left scene before the media could converge, making their way to the rooftops. They paused, looking for evidence above the alleyway, then slowly continued on.

“We have to make catching this guy a priority,” Nightwing was saying. “Batgirl?”

She had stopped, squinting across the way where could have sworn she saw a flash of red. “I think I saw something over there. Come on,” she said, pulling a line from her belt and getting ready to swing across to the distant building.

“What did you see?” he asked, reading his own ropes.

“Something red. But Robin should be across the city and he would check in with us if Batman sent him over here,” she said, throwing and swinging off the rooftop. He quickly followed.

They landed silently on the other building, scouring for more signs of another person. This time it was Nightwing who saw the distant flash of gleaming red. He quietly got her attention and pointed in the direction he wanted to go. She nodded and they set off, giving chase to the figure.

By the time they reached midtown, they were starting to catch more real glimpses of the person. He was in some sort of black and red hooded get up and seemed just as comfortable with the rooftop express as they were.

“There!” Batgirl pointed across the street where he stood, practically goading them to follow at this point. “What is that? Some sort of red face mask? A helmet?”

“I’ll find out,” said Nightwing, shooting his grapple and swinging off the skyscraper across the busy street.

And then suddenly his line was losing tension and he definitely was not swinging. He was falling. Falling. The rope had been cut. Hundreds of feet from the ground. Plenty of time to think of something. Or just contemplate his imminent death … falling just like they did …

“Gotcha! Hold on, Nightwing!”

Batgirl strained, gritting her teeth as she grabbed him from the air with one hand while trying to hold on to her own line.

“Babs!” Her presence seemed to shock him into action; he held onto her and reached over to grab at her rope to lessen the load on her arms. They tumbled ungracefully onto another, lower rooftop, him landing on top of her.

She groaned, letting go of him and starting to feel that very poor landing.

“Thanks for the save,” he said, slowly pulling himself up and offering her a hand.

She took it, saying, “It’s my job. Oh, I’ll feel that tomorrow… Looks like our Red Hood fellow disappeared though.” She pointed at the ledge he had been on before; there was no sign of the mysterious entity.

“He cut my line. I could have died. That bastard! What if you had gone first? You could have died! When I get my hands on him…” Dick rambled on, clenching a fist.

“Dick, calm down, I’m sure we’ll run into him again,” said Barbara, grabbing his fisted hand and squeezing. She walked over to where he had dropped the part of the line he’d been holding before she rescued him, examining the cut. “I can’t believe he cut your line though.”

“What? Weren’t you watching him? Didn’t you see him do it?”

“Yes, I saw him. I mean, it’s strange. These cords are really tough. They can lift a plane. It’s not easy to break stuff Batman himself designed,” she pointed out, holding up the end.

“It’s a clean cut,” he observed. “Did you see what he used? Or where it went?”

“No, I was a little more concerned with watching my boyfriend plummet to his death. Come on, we’re near where Robin is supposed to be patrolling. We should let him know what to be on the lookout for,” said Batgirl, rolling up the broken cord and stowing it in her belt. “But before we leave …” She strode up to him, reaching a hand around the back of his neck, and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

“And what was that for?” he asked, smiling when she released him.

“Didn’t feel like a proper rescue until I kissed the damsel.”

“Oh, Batgirl, thank goodness you were there to catch me with your big, strong arms,” he said, mockingly putting a hand to his forehead.

“Just don’t do that to me again, jerk,” she said, swatting his arm. “You scared me. Come on, let’s go find Robin.”

They set off across the city, keeping an eye out for two very different flashes of red-clad people, but at a more leisurely pace than before.

“Whoa, wait, quick, hide before he sees us!” said Nightwing suddenly, pulling her behind the brick walled stairwell.

“Before who sees us?” she hissed, trying to see around the corner.

“Shh! Look! He’s with a girl!”

Batgirl squinted, finally seeing Robin sitting next to a girl with blonde hair. “Ah, Cassie’s here,” she said with a small smile.

“Timmy has a girlfriend. I can’t believe you waited so long to tell me,” Dick was muttering. He was already peering through binoculars at the pair. Barbara rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall next to him as he spied on them.

“Dick, come on, give them a little space.”

“They’re eating ice cream, I think. It’s very intimate looking. I’m not sure about this. On one hand I’m proud of him. Look at him, putting on the moves like that. I taught him well. But I don’t think he’s ready for the responsibility of dating and hero work. It’s not easy, you know. Especially at his age,” he rambled on.

“He has you for a brother. I’m sure he knows what he’s getting into.”

“I was starting to get worried you know. I knew Cassie had a thing for him before Jaime showed up. But Tim just never seemed that interested in her. He never even told me he liked her! I would have put them on more squads together. Ohmigod! Babs! She’s kissing him! Look!”

“Stop watching them!” Barbara hissed, making a grab for the binoculars. He held them out of her reach.

“No, it’s okay, they stopped. But I think they’re holding hands. Hey, should I buy Tim some condoms? That’s something older brothers are supposed to do, right?”

She sighed exasperatedly. “He’s fifteen.”

“I know his age. I still want him to be safe.”

“I think it would just embarrass him,” Barbara pointed out, watching him lean around the corner, completely engrossed in the scene.

“Hmm,” he said vaguely.

“Maybe we should just come back later. Or call him on the radio,” she suggested, taking the opportunity to gaze at his back. And lower.

“No, we just need to wait for a good opening.”

“I’ve already embarrassed them before by catching them making out. I don’t think they’d appreciate it again. Leave them alone, Dick.”

“I still can’t believe you knew about them for so long and didn’t tell me…”

Very casually, she reached out and placed one hand on his back, just above his belt. He didn’t seem to notice the touch. Slowly, she moved her hand lower until it was lightly cupping his very fine, firm backside. Still no acknowledgement. She squeezed deliberately and finally he tensed up slightly.

He cleared his throat and glanced over his shoulder. “Any particular reason why you’re groping me?”

“Not really,” she said, her other arm snaking around his waist. “Just remembered that it’s my privilege as girlfriend.”

He went back to looking through the binoculars again but she could see the partial smirk on his face, daring her.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t messed around a little on patrol before. Even though she had seen him without it, she was not immune to the fact that he filled the hell out of that Nightwing suit. And the tightness of her costume wasn’t just a tactical advantage for ease of movement.

Emboldened, she pressed up against his back, still firmly gripping his butt. The hand on his front was gently caressing his abdominals, her touch light through the layers of her glove and his armor. Her hand found the waistband of his pants and her thumb slipped under. His abs contracted slightly as he audibly drew in a breath.

“Babs …” he murmured warningly, hardly concentrating on the scene occurring a roof away anymore.

In response, she squeezed him again and blew on the back of his neck.

“Alright,” he said, turning around in her arms and putting his arms around her waist. “You win. You have my attention.”

“I always win,” she reminded him before pressing her lips to his. As they made out for a while, Barbara made a mental note to tell Tim he owed her one.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an unpleasant end in this city.

“That’s enough,” growled a voice nearby and they reluctantly separated to see Batman had arrived on their rooftop. “It is a wonder you managed to keep the city surviving while I was gone,” he added.

“Cock-blocked by the Batman himself,” Dick muttered to her, making Barbara roll her eyes.

“If you can’t take this seriously, you are welcome to leave,” their boss chastised them.

“Did you go scare off Robin’s girlfriend too?” Nightwing asked, folding his arms.

“We have been working. We think we know who’s killing the gang members. Watch out for a guy wearing a red helmet,” Batgirl interjected before the two men could start bickering.

“A red helmet?” Batman repeated sharply.

“Yeah, we followed him a ways after the crime scene,” Nightwing reported.

“You failed to catch him.”

“The punk cut my line! Batgirl, show him,” he said as she was already pulling the damaged cord from her belt.

“He’s dangerous. He didn’t shoot at us but he had no problem letting Nightwing almost fall to his death after slicing the rope,” Batgirl explained.

“Alright. Priority number one is to find this Red Hood before he kills again,” said Batman, carefully looking at the cut end of the rope. Another person suddenly rounded the corner and skidded to a stop.

“Hey, guys, what did I miss?” Robin said, looking a little nervous. It obviously had not escaped his notice how close their little meeting was to where he’d been having his date with Cassie.

 ***************

* * *

 

 “Dick, you have to understand what exactly you’re asking here,” said Barbara, for about the seventh time.

It had been several busy days since the move-in conversation. She had been occupied with the Team while Dick was working in Bludhaven. And then there was the Red Hood case. Finally a free weekend arrived and Barbara sat down and packed up her essentials for the trip down river. She was surprised at how little of her belongings she actually needed to pack, most of it being there already.

“Yes, yes, I know. We won’t always be able to have sex in the shower because sometimes you have to shave your legs,” said Dick mock seriously as he rooted around in the bedroom closet, rearranging things. “It will be difficult but it’s a sacrifice I’m prepared to make if it keeps you arou—ahh! Son of a bitch! Spider!” There was loud thumping as he located a stray shoe and went to town on the eight legged closet invader.

“You haven’t lived with a woman since you were a small child. You grew up in a very masculine household. I just want to make sure you know what you’re in for,” she said, ignoring his teasing. “There are things I’ve never complained about because technically I was a guest here …”

His head poked out, eyebrow raised. “So the ten minute lecture last week on how to properly soak used dishes so that food doesn’t get stuck to them was not a complaint?” he pointed out.

“It was not ten minutes!”

“I timed it.”

“Dick! Just rinse out the bowl when you have oatmeal or it will stick and cement on and then you’ve ruined the dish!”

“Yes, that’s a good summary. Here, okay, pretty much everything of mine fits on this side. Is this enough closet space for you?”

Barbara sighed and stood up from the bed, standing next to him in the doorway of the closet. A few boxes and suitcases filled with almost all of the rest of her clothes and other necessities were spread around the floor of the room, waiting to be unpacked.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I left some stuff at my dad’s house,” she commented.

“I think we could fit another dresser in here too. And then for your books and stuff, we could get another bookshelf for the living room,” Dick was saying.

She glanced over at him. He just looked so eager as he stared around the room, his mind obviously in another place where it was their room and everything fit perfectly in its spot. Barbara couldn’t help but feel a surge of affection and smiled.

“You really want me here, don’t you,” she said softly. 

He looked over at her, returning the smile. “Yeah, I really do.”

Without warning, she pounced on him, knocking him over onto the bed with an “oof!” as she landed on top of him. For a few minutes they just kissed leisurely, without hurry, his hands lightly on her back. Not for the first time, she thought of how he was just so good at kissing.

“So, I guess this is our bed now,” said Barbara, looking down at him.

He smirked. “Thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Probably not. I was thinking we should get new sheets. These are a little masculine for my tastes,” she said lightly, looking over his shoulder at the linens.

“Oh really,” he said, a playful gleam in his eye.

Before she had time to be suspicious, Dick had flipped them over and was mercilessly tickling her sides. She broke into peals of laughter, begging him to stop.

“Dick! No! Aha…Ahh! Stop! Okay … hahaha! We don’t need *hic* haha … to get new sheets!”

He paused, leaning over her, smirking. “It seems I’ve found Barbara Gordon’s weakness.”

“Then it’s only fair that I find yours,” she said, catching her breath. She reached up, putting a hand on the back of his neck and bringing him to her lips.

They definitely did not spend enough time making out, Barbara decided as they lay with limbs entwined and mouths attached. His hands just under the hem of her shirt, his tongue expertly dancing with hers. Only very reluctantly did she pull away.

“We should unpack some more of my things,” she said quietly.

“Hm, I was thinking we should spend some more time in our bed,” said Dick, moving to kiss her neck.

She lazily closed her eyes as his mouth worked at all the sensitive spots along her throat. “Think of it as celebrating when I’m officially moved in.”

“I’m celebrating that you actually agreed to it,” he said, nuzzling her skin.

“We did that last night, when I actually agreed to it,” she said dryly.

“Anxious to start alphabetizing your books?” he joked.

“You really think I didn’t pack them already alphabetized?”

“God, I love you.” He kissed her lips a little more urgently this time.

 _Spend the evening unpacking a bunch of crap that there probably isn’t room for in this apartment or making passionate love with gorgeous boyfriend?_  Barbara had a feeling her things weren’t going to be unpacked tonight.

With a hum of approval, she pulled up his shirt and he separated from her momentarily to completely remove it. She crawled over him, straddling his waist and kissing him, her lips and hands trailing over the defined muscles of his chest. He groaned her name, reaching for the buttons on her blouse.

Barbara shrugged off the blouse and leaned over to kiss him again.

“Is this new?” Dick asked, plucking at the strap of her bra. He had thought himself already completely acquainted with her lingerie.

She slowly sat back up, a knowing smile on her face. “You like it?”

“It’s … it’s my color,” he said, marveling at the blue lace. “You got a Nightwing bra.”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” she warned.

“Never,” he said with a smirk, reaching around her back to unhook the clasp.

It was a race to get each other’s pants off next, giggling and fumbling as they kicked off their jeans. She sat in his lap, as his mouth moved languidly across her chest. Breathily, she moaned his name. One arm was wrapped firmly around her waist while his other hand caressed her thigh, reaching her panties which were also lacy and blue and particularly small tonight.

She gasped as his fingers stroked at her, pushing aside the tiny bit of cloth. Slowly he wound her up, feeling as she became more aroused, watching her breathing speed up with his actions. She started rocking her hips back and forth against his hand, her grip on the back of his head and shoulders tightening. His talented fingers knew her so well.

“Mm, Dick …” She whined when he took his hand away. Her eyes flashed with desire as she pushed him back against the pillows then began peeling his shorts off. With liberal application of her lips and hands, he began groaning her name, winding his fingers in her red locks.

“Babs, uhh, yes … Babs …” he was saying as she sucked him off, humming in appreciation. He was panting, fidgeting, trying not to thrust into her mouth. “Babs …I need … slower or … oh, Babs …”

She pulled away, knowing he was so close. “I need you inside me now,” she declared, stripping off her panties before climbing over him again. Positioning herself over his hips, she slowly slid onto him, closing her eyes and exhaling at the achingly familiar relief, the perfect fit.

Barbara moved slowly at first, rocking her hips, savoring the feel of him filling her. Her hands traced over his torso and she leaned over to kiss him. She sped up, his hands guiding her, his hardness hitting in all the right places.

“Fuck, Babs, you’re incredible,” Dick said, gazing up at her as she rode him. It was probably his favorite part, watching her body move like that over him

She didn’t even know what she was saying in return, concentrating on moving up and down, faster and faster, words and moans tumbling from her lips as she got closer. Their bodies slammed together, him meeting her thrusts.

Soon she was crying out with pleasure, coming and taking him over the edge as well as she clenched and shuddered around him.

Barbara rested her head against his chest as she came down from the high, smiling as his hands idly rubbed at her back. She pressed another kiss to his chest then scooted off him, cuddling up to his side and looking up at him cheerfully.

“Now, wouldn’t it have felt more like we earned that if it was after we had unpacked all of my things?” she asked pointedly.

“We do have all night,” he said, smirking. She kissed the smirk off his lips.

He wrapped his arms around her, one running through her hair and the other tracing circles along her hip and thigh, as they lay in their bed. Their bed. It was no long just her sleeping in his bed. It was almost like some sort of paradigm shift; this was their shared intimate space.

“What’s on your mind?” she breathed in his ear.

“You are.”

Her slight laugh tickled his neck. Then her lips followed, quickly finding his. Her mouth was just so warm and perfect and  _Barbara_  …

And he just wanted her all over again, leaning over her as they kissed deeply. She whined in the back of her throat when they connected again. When she opened her eyes, he saw the intensity he felt reflected back at him.

For a long time, he just held her, feeling an overwhelming desire to be impossibly close. He knew every spot on her that would make her sigh and coo and he just wanted to experience all of it, the nearness, to be in the same space. Completely fill every spot.

He started to have an inkling of understanding. It wasn’t like they hadn’t tenderly and sweetly made love before; it wasn’t all flashy acrobatics (not that he would ever discount the validity of those encoutners). And he had definitely been clinging to her desperately the past month, taking as much as he could. This moment transcended. How had they ever dared to use the word love before?

This was right. They belonged together.

Dick didn’t want to move away just a little, even to thrust back into her but he craved the friction. They rocked slowly; he just wanted to give everything he had.

It was slower than usual, but eventually she found her release, and it was so long awaited for and intense. She clutched him, her fingers digging into his skin, drawing shaking breaths, his name on her lips like a song.

Much later, when they finished again together, and rested in each other’s arms, she murmured, “That was amazing …”

“Mhm,” he agreed softly.

In that moment, nothing else seemed to matter.


	3. Part Three

Dick and Barbara were both somewhat surprised at how smooth the transition to living together full time seemed to be going. It was somewhat awkward at first, navigating an apartment that now held twice as much stuff. But they were both still very busy with day jobs and hero work that there was little opportunity for things to go wrong. In fact, just because they were sleeping in the same bed every night now, did not mean that they suddenly saw each other a lot more often than before. Several nights in a row, one had arrived back home so late that the other had simply fallen asleep.

So Dick had come up with the brilliant idea of making a secure line so they could text while he was patrolling Bludhaven and she was up on Watchtower with the team or on a mission. However, the texting very quickly dissolved into foreplay, sometimes making it even more frustrating.

On their way back from a mission, Barbara finally had a chance to covertly pull out her hand held and check her messages. She could barely conceal a smirk at the last couple of texts he had sent her.  _Well then_.

“I know that look, what did he say?”

Startled, Barbara looked up where Tigress was leaning against the side of the bioship, giving her a knowing smile. Before she could even come up with a good reply, the other girl had snatched the device from her hand and began scrolling through past messages.

“Damn, Nightwing sure writes some poetry,” she said with a smirk.

“Nightwing? Are you talking to Nightwing? Is he coming back soon?”

Batgirl groaned as they suddenly attracted Beast Boy’s attention. She grabbed back her handheld and attempted to keep it out of reach of the younger boy, who had decided to turn into a bird and fly around to try to get a glimpse.

“Gar, please, it’s kind of a personal conversation,” Barb protested.

“But –“

“Gar, can you come over here for a minute!”

Barbara sighed and shot Conner a grateful look as the younger boy hopped across the ship.

“Sorry about that, Barb,” said M’gann from the helm.

“It’s fine,” Barbara waved her off.

“M’gann, you should see some of this. It’s very steamy in some parts,” said Tigress, approvingly, nodding at the phone as Barbara tucked it away.

M’gann shot them a grin. “Oh really? So, I guess the co-habitation is working out well?”

“So far. I mean, it’s only been about a week. And are you two still planning on coming out for my birthday next week?” Barbara asked.

“Of course!”

“I can’t wait!”

“I’ve called Bette and we already planned your whole night,” Tigress added.

********************************

* * *

 

It was quickly brought to her attention, though, that there was a growing problem with forcing themselves into the spotlight to take attention off of Bruce’s absence. Suddenly, they were in the center of attention for media socialite gossip. Which was never a good place to be when you were dating.

Barbara hadn’t initially bothered to notice outside opinions on the first few months of their relationship. While she knew that pictures of them out to dinner or at parties occasionally turned up in the paper, she had more important things on her plate at the time. And for the most part, it was fairly complimentary. At first.

Growing up, her father was in the public eye but had managed to shield her from the worst of the press. Dating the adopted son of Gotham’s favorite billionaire did not afford her the same protection. It seemed everyone had some sort of opinion on hers and Dick’s relationship.

She was given this cold slap in the face one evening when she turned on the television in their apartment, flipping idly until she stopped on the entertainment news channel. They were talking about Bruce Wayne, because TV gossips loved to talk about Bruce Wayne, but the conversation quickly evolved to Dick Grayson and subsequently, Barbara Gordon. Tonight’s topic was her fashion choices.

“See here at the Wayne Christmas party in this stunning blue silk.”

“She just looks so fierce there!”

There was an image of her standing defiantly, her hands clenched into fists. Barbara instantly recognized it as the moment when Bette had been kidnapped. Someone had snapped a picture of her?  _Priorities_ …

“Of course, it was another Bruce Wayne bash that ended in disaster.” The hosts laughed.

“But then at New Years, look at her here. Again, she looks fabulous, very confident. I’m not a big fan of the black, she looks much better in blue. But obviously she was asserting herself here.”

“And it worked! Days later, Dick Grayson was taking her out to one of the hottest restaurants in Gotham.”

“Dumping poor Bette Kane just days after her father’s scandal.”

“I just have to say, I’m amazed we’re still seeing them together. You know he definitely takes after his playboy father.” More laughter and a picture of them out on Valentine’s Day. “Ooooh, I’m so glad you brought this one up next!”

“I know you have a lot to say about this one!”

“Besides the obviously sizzling kiss, marking her territory. Although let’s take a closer look at her dress. There, see? Old dress. Wow, honey, you’re dating one of the richest men in the city. I’m sure he’d happily buy you a new dress. You don’t have to live this way, Barb!”

They laughed again, showing another picture of her red dress.

 _Maybe I’m not a cheap whore who just wants to use her boyfriend’s money to buy expensive clothes …_  She clutched angrily at the remote in her hand but couldn’t bring herself to change the channel.

“Barbara of course is famous for wearing repeat dresses like this, even before she was actually dating Dick Grayson.”

“But you know what I like about her, she’s actually got some meat on her bones. I mean, look at her. She doesn’t look like a strong gust of wind would tip her over. I know some tabloids have been saying mean things about her weight but I think she looks healthy and solid!”

It was horrifying. They showed some of the headlines and unflattering pictures. How they had managed to get an angle where she looked terrible and Dick looked perfect was lost on her.

 _Those have got to be photoshopped_  … She may not consider herself Bette Kane level of stunning but generally had a good self-esteem about her body.

“Exactly! Just because she’s not a size two! Look at those guns! She could probably easily carry a full grown man.”

“Ladies, watch out. If Barbara finds you chatting up her man, she will pick him up and carry him off!” That got another good laugh and a glare from her.

 “It’s amazing, the contrast between her formal wear choices and her everyday style. She tends to favor a very plain, clean cut look.” There was an image of her walking out of the WE building with Dick; one of her walking up the steps to the library where she worked; even one of her exiting the police precinct where her father’s office was located. “A lot of sweaters and blazers and skirts, not much embellishment.”

“Again, honey, it’s okay to dress up a little in your daily life too!”

Dick chose that unfortunate moment to walk out of the bedroom and got a full blast of her anger.

“Apparently I don’t dress nice enough to date you,” she said scathingly.

“Okay,” he said slowly, edging over to the kitchen. “I’ll try not to hold it against you.”

“Oh, but this last picture definitely leaves much in question. First off, it’s great that you finally bought a new dress, but poor choice in a gown, Barbara. See the tapering here? And the waistline? The color isn’t very flattering either. But see, if you look from this angle, you can almost see a little baby bump.”

“WHAT?!” Barbara jumped to her feet.

“If they wanted to keep it a secret for longer, she definitely should not have worn that dress.”

“Sources even say that no one saw her drink the whole night!”

“They think I’m pregnant!? Do I look pregnant?!” she demanded.

“Of course not. Why are you even watching this?” he asked blankly.

“Maybe this is why they’ve stayed together so long,” one of the tv hosts speculated. “I read last week that a source close to the couple reported they were having trouble.”

“I wasn’t! It was just on! Dick! People think I’m pregnant! God, they probably think I tricked you into knocking me up so you’d stay with me!”

He stepped towards her placing his hands on her upper arms, looking very alarmed now. “Barbara, calm down! It doesn’t matter! Okay, we know you aren’t pregnant. Right? I mean … you’ve been taking your pills and you’ve been regular … right?”

“Yes, right, of course, you’re right,” she said, taking a deep breath. Then she frowned again. “Oh my God, they just called me fat!”

There was enough of a pause for them to hear the show host say “… so according to our relationship expert here, we don’t predict this to last much longer. She’s too fiercely domineering. He’s too much of a free spirit. Sadly, I think we’re looking at the beginnings of another failed romance for Dick Grayson.”

“Okay, I think that’s enough of that crap,” he said decisively, reaching for the remote and turning off the television. “Come on, why don’t we go out for dinner.”

“How can you be so calm? They just made me out to be a fat, badly-dressed, clingy harpy who dares to take the famous Dick Grayson off the market.”

Dick shook his head, trying not to sound too amused. “Because you aren’t. But if you’re going to break up with me over this, I’m going to have to be the clingy harpy and say no.”

“Those people don’t even know me.”

“Barbara, do you remember when I was first taken in by Bruce? Do you remember what people were saying? All the really bad rumors people were spreading about us?” he asked patiently.

“Yeah, but no one actually believed that,” she said, rolling her eyes. “They were just making things up for shock value and gossip.”

“Exactly. If any of them bothered to do real research, they would have found out that for the first two years I lived there, Social Services visited once a month. It was a high profile case. They weren’t just going to leave me there without checking in constantly. But on tv, those so called experts would go through publicity and paparazzi photos, trying to point out instances of anything that could remotely look inappropriate. It was ridiculous. I know Bruce tried to shield me from the worst of it when I was younger but there were always kids at school too,” he went on.

“But people stopped after a while. And this isn’t exactly bullies at school,” she pointed out, motioning to the darkened screen.

“Same thing exactly. And Barbara Gordon always stands up to bullies and loves to prove people wrong,” he reminded her. “Other people’s opinions don’t matter here, okay?”

Barbara sighed and nodded.

“Now come on, I’ve hardly seen you since you moved in. Let’s go to dinner.”

********************

* * *

 

There was a new cop working the front desk at her father’s precinct when Barbara went to bring him a healthy lunch a few days later. Jim was notorious for working through meals and then going off his prescribed low-sodium diet.

“What can I do for you, miss?” he asked, kindly smiling at her. He was young, and very cute, she couldn’t help but notice.

“Is the commissioner in? I’ve brought him his lunch,” said Barbara, holding up the plastic sac in her hands.

“He expecting you?” the officer asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I think so. Mind if I go back, Officer Bard?” she asked, squinting at his badge.

“Maybe I should give him a call first. People have been bugging him a lot recently …”

“Barbara, sweetie, it’s good to see you,” said a female voice. Another police officer had rounded the corner and made her way to her usual spot at the desk. “Your father is in his office,” she added with a kind smile.

“Thanks, Gwen.”

As she set off around the corner and down the hallway, she could hear Officer Bard exclaim, “That’s the commissioner’s daughter!?”

Barbara knocked on the door to her father’s office then slipped inside. He was on the phone, a slightly frustrated expression as though whatever he was listening to did not impress him. He idly waved at her and she stepped over to his desk, unpacking the lunch she’d brought.

“I think we’re done here, sir. And I’m not up to trading gossip at the moment. Good day, mister Mayor,” said Jim curtly, hanging up. “Hello, Barbara, what brings you here?” he asked tiredly.

“You didn’t think I’d stop making sure you had a decent meal just because I moved, did you?”

He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “Thank you, sweetheart. More rabbit food?”

“What the doctor ordered. You need to be watching your blood pressure, Dad,” said Barbara, clearing a spot before him on the desk and setting out the containers.

There was another knock and the officer from the front desk poked his head in. “Uh, sir, Vickie Vale is at the front desk asking if you had a moment today for an interview?”

Barbara frowned. “Vickie Vale? Why?”

Officer Bard looked uncomfortable and her father groaned, “Not again. I’m not available. You couldn’t find me anywhere. Got it? And have you met my daughter, Barbara?”

“Jason Bard, miss. Sorry about at the desk,” he said, nodding politely at her. “I’ll tell her she just missed you, sir.” With that, the door closed again.

“Bard just transferred here from Chicago. He’s new here. He’s single. And he’s also not a local celebrity,” said her father darkly.

“Why is Vickie Vale bothering you?” she asked, dreading the answer.

He grunted and peeled the lid off the fruit salad, examining the contents carefully. “Just please tell me you didn’t decide to move in with him just because you’re pregnant? Because I’d really hate having to learn that from the TV and the reporters constantly trying to get a quote from me about it.”

This was probably a result of that one time she had threatened to ruin Vickie Vale’s life if she didn’t stop spreading rumors about Dick and speculating about Bruce’s absence. And then she threw the reporter out of the party. Karma really was a vengeful bitch.

“No, Dad, I’m not pregnant. I promise,” she said, sinking into one of the chairs. “I’m sorry people keep bothering you about my relationship with Dick. But I swear, we’re just living together. We are in no way ready for anything beyond that.”

“Oh, sweetheart, he is very serious about you. He is absolutely convinced he has found the one,” said Jim, leaning back in his chair.

Barbara shifted uncomfortably. “Do you really disapprove?”

“Not at all. Now are you staying to eat lunch with me?”

“No, sorry. I’m meeting Artemis for lunch before my shift at the library,” she said, standing up apologetically and glancing at her watch. “Take care of yourself, Dad.”

“You too, young lady. Be very careful,” he said, tapping deliberately on a paper on his desk. Barbara glanced at it, the words ‘Red Hood’ catching her eye, and she nodded.

 *****************************

* * *

 

Artemis had moved back to Gotham to live with her mother; the apartment at Stanford was just too empty by herself. It was even doubtful of whether she would actually continue school next year. Barbara didn’t want to ask; her friend deserved a good, long break.

Yet, for a young woman still mourning the love of her life, Artemis actually looked fairly good at lunch that day. There was still a sad distance in her grey eyes, but she gave more genuine smiles more freely as the two girls chatted.

“So, how are you and Dick dealing with all the gossip then?”

“Mostly trying to ignore it. It’s easier for him since he’s grown up with it all his life. Not to mention most of the bad stuff is aimed at me,” said Barbara, stirring her iced tea.

“I’m sorry, Barb. But at least living together now is working out?” the blonde asked.

“Yeah,” said Barb hesitantly. “You know, we don’t have to talk about me and Dick if you’d rather …”

“Stop, please, not you too,” she said with a frown. “I’m tired of people walking on eggshells around me. Yes, I lost my soul mate. But I’m still happy that you have yours, Barb. Okay? You can talk about how happy you are. You’re one of my best friends and I like hearing that you’re happy.”

“It doesn’t make you think of him? Make you miss him?” she asked cautiously.

“Everything makes me think of him. But at least I can think of all the goofy things he would say, how thrilled he would be about the two of you, because Dick is his best friend and he knows how much he’s loved you. I’m thinking of him no matter what. At least give me a happy memory.”

“Artemis …” Barbara reached over the table to take her friend’s hand soothingly eliciting a small smile from her. “God, I miss him too…”

“Happy things,” she reminded her, turning her hand over to give Barbara’s a small squeeze before she let go.

“Remember that one time he invited me to have a threesome with you two?” said Barbara with a smirk. It was the first random thing she thought of.

Artemis gave a choking laugh, blinking away a few stray tears. “Yes! And then you told him he should have one with you two because Dick loves his redheads!”

“He was so flustered!”

The two giggled between trading stories of all the silly things Wally had ever done or said. There was a lot of ground to cover.

“Thanks for this, Barb. I really needed to get out,” said Artemis sincerely as they wandered out of the café.

“Take care of yourself.”


	4. Part Four

Laughter echoed through the cave as the two girls sparred playfully.

“You’re really picking this up,” said Barbara, offering a hand.

“Thanks, although you’re still kicking my butt every time,” said Bette, taking the hand and getting to her feet again.

“I’ve been training longer and more seriously. And it’s actually hard to come up with ways to beat you so you’ll actually learn. I have a little more respect for every sensei I’ve ever had,” said Barbara, smiling slightly. “Come on, let’s do some weapon’s work next.”

For the next hour or so, they then threw bat-a-rangs at targets. Bette seemed to really have an aptitude for throwing. The girl had quite an arm, most likely from years of serious tennis playing.

The self-defense lessons had started months ago as a way to help the other girl cope with her kidnapping. But Bette was slowly, but surely healing and their weekends were gradually turning into bonding sessions. Barbara would say they were even better friends now than they had been back in high school.

“So, do I dare ask when you’re due?” Bette joked.

“Ugh, it’s like everything I say is wrong,” Barbara complained, collecting up all the thrown bat-a-rangs.

“I’m sorry, Barb, that must really suck,” she said sympathetically.

“How do you deal? I know the media was really giving you crap about your father…”

“Well, a very wise young heroine told me to pull myself together because I’m not some damsel in distress,” said Bette evenly, taking aim and throwing.

“They’re always taking his side. There’s not even an argument but they act like I’m this horrible, domineering, overbearing, controlling woman who dared to take him off the market. They use every chance we’re out to take really bad pictures of me. And the pregnancy rumor just will not die, no matter how much we protest it’s not true,” Barbara grumbled.

“Come on, Barb. You’re a fucking badass. Double majoring in math and computer science. Saving the world from an alien invasion. Standing up to Batman himself. And you saved my life,” said Bette, smiling slightly. “These guys are just flies on the windshield.”

“They’re pretty big flies,” she muttered.

They practiced some more knife work, using the plastic training knives.

“It helps that you’re naturally pretty aggressive,” Barbara observed as her student easily mastered another technique.

“Thanks. I’ve been meaning to ask, how is my case coming along? Have you guys gotten any leads on catching Seth Ackerman?” Bette asked as they wandered to the side of the training room.

“Oh, well, I don’t mean to trivialize what happened to you, Bette, but we’ve kind of been busy lately,” Barbara said uneasily.

“I know, I know, alien invasion and all that. But it’s been over a month. Surely you’ve gotten some leads by now,” Bette insisted, picking up a bottle of water.

“It’s not that simple, Bette. These things take time. Ackerman’s gone underground and no one connected to his business is talking. It might be a while, if we even manage to catch him.”

“Barb! This guy is the reason my father is going to prison! He blackmailed my father into using Kane Industry profits! He had me kidnapped! I was almost sent out of the country and sold as a sex slave! And you’re telling me you can’t catch him?” Bette looked furious.

“You don’t understand. This guy has tons of mob connections. Catching criminals isn’t all just banging down the front door of the bad guy’s easily found lair and punching him until he confesses. I’m sure Batman is working on it. Personally, I’ve had other things on my plate,” Barbara said evenly, attempting to keep her voice calm. The other girl had no idea what had been expected of her lately after stepping into a leadership role with the team.

“Right, stupid civilian Bette,” the blond said coolly.

“Listen, I’m sorry it’s been pushed to the backburner. But I’ve been trying to cope with the fact that I lost a teammate last month, the man I love lost his best friend in the world and has been slowly sinking into depression. I’m practically leading a team of super powered, and super hormonal, teenage heroes. There’s a murderous vigilante running amuck in the city. And then there’s the media shit storm that has become my not-so-private life.”

Bette had her arms folded haughtily but did not say anything.

“I will get to it when I can,” Barbara finished shortly.

“Forget it, don’t bother,” she said without emotion. “You’ve clearly done enough.”

*********************

* * *

 

“I’m not the only rich kid with a vendetta in this town,” Bette muttered to herself as she pulled on the makeshift costume. Her chosen color scheme was wine red. The tights were tucked into knee high boots and the beginning of a utility belt was slung around her waist. She was surprised at how easy it was to subversively acquire things like a dark red shirt with Kevlar weaved in when you had the money.

How on Earth had no one guessed that someone as rich as Bruce Wayne was Batman? This stuff was pretty expensive.

When she had been finally shown the cave, Bette had paid close attention. While she didn’t know where to get some of the more dangerous pieces in the famed utility belt, she had a grappling line and some throwing stars similar to bat-a-rangs. Two knives were sheathed at her hips and gloves and tinted goggles completed her look.

It was her third night out practicing with the grapple and line that she finally decided to search for a lead. Having always been athletic, she was fairly comfortable with the mode of transportation, even if she did not look as stylish as the bats did.

Bette quickly stumbled across a black market trade in one of the seedier parts of town. The man was selling pirated DVDs out of the trunk of his car.  _Perfect_. Another man had just pulled out the money when Bette jumped from her perch.

A solid round-house kick took out the buyer (she would have to thank Barb for teaching her that one). She threw a bird-a-rang at the seller, who squawked and stupidly dropped his gun in surprise. It was very lucky.

“Where’s your boss?” Bette demanded, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and holding up one of her knives menacingly.

“What?? Lady, you’re crazy!” His eyes were bloodshot and he smelled like cigarettes and other general grossness.

“Where’s Seth Ackerman! Tell me where I can find him! Now!”

“Crazy bitch! I don’t work for no one!”

“All you scum know each other! Ackerman! Tell me now and I put the big, scary knife away!”

“Fuckin crazy bitch! Get the fuck off me!” He gave her strong shove and she lost her balance, falling to the ground. The knife clattered out of her hand and she scrambled back. The thug loomed over her with a horrifying leer. “Missy, you have no idea what you’re in for.”

“That’s no way to treat a lady,” said a hollow voice behind her.

The man looked up and his eyes widened in fear. There was a loud BANG! Bette shrieked and closed her eyes. When she opened them, the thug was on the ground with a hole in his head and another tall man wearing a red helmet was standing next to her.

“You just shot him,” Bette said faintly.

Red Hood continued to look down at her, head tilted to the side as though mildly intrigued by her presence. He offered her a hand up which she pointedly ignored, getting to her feet.

“You’re welcome,” he said sardonically.

“I’m not thanking you. I was kind of trying to get information,” she huffed, folding her arms.

“Well you kind of suck at it,” he observed.

Bette glared then pushed past him, determined to get away before the gunshot attracted bystanders. She climbed to the roof of a building and set off back to the better parts of the city where she lived. Her hands were shaking so badly she had to stop a few times on the way.  _I just watched a man get shot …_  The image wouldn’t leave her mind no matter how hard she tried to think of something, anything, just not the sight of blood and grey matter leaking onto the asphalt. It felt like enough excitement for one night.

Except it seemed that excitement was not going to leave her alone for the evening.

She had just made it back to her apartment and removed her goggles, gloves and ponytail when she heard the sliding glass door to her balcony open. Bette hurried back into the front room, throwing star in hand to confront the intruder.

“You! You followed me home?!”

Red Hood leaned casually against the wall. “Why are you looking for Seth Ackerman?”

“Why do you want to know?”

He shrugged. “I know why I’m looking for him. I want to know why you are.”

Bette hesitated. “Do you know who I am?” she asked cautiously.

“Should I, sweetheart?” he drawled.

“I … Ackerman is the reason my father is in prison. He blackmailed him into funding his illegal trade business. And when my dad tried to get out of it, he had me kidnapped with the intention of selling me.”

_Why did I just tell him all of that?_

“Ah, revenge, the purest of motives,” he said, pushing off the wall and starting to pace around her. “So you want to give him hell for what he put you through and I want to take over his trade empire. Well, sweetheart, I think we can help each other out.”

“I don’t need help from the likes of you,” said Bette loftily.

“Yeah you do. You’re obviously new to the whole vigilante thing. I have some experience. You’re not a bad fighter. I could use someone watching my back. The bats are always trying to sneak up on me.”

“You’re a murderer.”

“Semantics. You think that guy was going to do anything less to you before I stepped in? I’m still patiently waiting for that thank you, by the way.”

Bette just glared again, not wanting to admit that he was probably right.

“Look, I can get you to Ackerman. You get your revenge, I get control of his business. Everyone is happy,” he said.

“I want to stop his business. He deals in things like drugs and human trafficking!”

Red Hood shrugged. “I can’t say I’m fond of the second. That faction will probably be shut down. But being in control of the drug trade is important to my goals.”

“What goals?”

“You don’t need to worry about them. What do you say? Partners?”

Bette narrowed her eyes. On one hand, he was kind of right in that she really had no idea where to start. “I don’t want to be complicit in criminal activities.”

“Technically, vigilantism is considered a criminal activity. Did you know there’s officially a standing order to arrest Batman on sight? Yet the police Commissioner himself constructed a signal to call him. You put on the suit, you’re already in the game.” Even with the helmet she could tell he was probably smirking.

“Take off the helmet, I want to see your face,” Bette requested.

“Will it help you make up your mind?”

“Maybe.”

He hesitated then slowly took the red hood off, revealing dark hair with a small tuft of white, finely chiseled facial features, and a domino mask over his eyes. He was slightly younger than Bette was expecting.

“Why the hat if you wear a mask underneath?”

“I don’t want to be easily recognized. So are you in?”

She hesitated again; she didn’t even actually know this guy. He had shot someone right in front of her. Someone who had intended on hurting her, or worse.

“Ground rules. No inviting yourself over to my apartment. Keep the killing to a minimum. And you will absolutely stop any of the human trafficking occurring in Ackerman’s business,” she demanded.

“Deal. So, what’s your name supposed to be anyway?”

“Um, Bette ….”

“No, not that. I mean your code name,” he said with a small, attractive smirk.

“Oh, well, I was thinking, something like … Flamebird?”

“I look forward to working together, Flamebird,” he said, holding out a hand. She took it and they shook, her wondering what exactly she had just gotten herself into.


	5. Part Five

It was after three AM and Dick had only just gotten in after patrol, changed, and was seated before his computer. He was going through logs and case files as he waited up for Barbara to get home from her twenty-first birthday night out with the girls.

He didn’t have to wait long though as he heard several footsteps climbing the stairs to the front door, accompanied with girlish laughter and voices. Wearily, Dick turned off his laptop and was just putting it away when they knocked loudly on the door.

“You know, Barbara does have a key,” he said, pulling open the door to find his girlfriend drunkenly grinning at him while being supported by Artemis and M’gann. Bette lingered cheerfully behind the three, following them inside the apartment.

They were all in various states of inebriation (except for Artemis who had volunteered to be the driver) but the birthday girl was clearly the most gone.

“Dick!” She let go of the other two girls and made a lunge for him. He quickly attempted to hold onto her around the waist as she overshot and pitched to the side, throwing her arms around his neck. “I’m sooooooo glad to see you, Dick,” she said, hanging onto him as he carefully steadied her.

“Glad to see you had a good evening. Where’s the rest of your entourage?” Dick asked the other girls.

“Raquel had to relieve her babysitter and we managed to convince Zee and Karen we could get Barb home without them,” said M’gann, looking amused and fairly sober. Apparently alcohol didn’t have much effect on Martian biology.

“Now you’ve only slept with half the girls in the room,” Artemis said with a smirk while Bette laughed.

“Artemis, really? You’ve forgotten that one night already?” said Dick, holding onto Barbara still.

“What?” said M’gann and Bette almost at the same time.

“What? We did not! Just because we happened to get separated during a mission, which was years ago, and fell asleep next to each other …” said Artemis, turning red.

“You kept saying ‘oh, Robin!’ in your sleep,” Dick teased.

“You can’t prove that!”

“Mm, Dick, I’m so happy to see youuu, finallyyyy. I am sooo horny right now,” Barbara interrupted, slurring happily as she snuggled up to him.

His eyes widened slightly as the other three girls burst into peals of laughter again.

“How much did you have to drink sweetheart?” said Dick, carefully pulling her over to sit down on the couch.

“I have no idea!” All she knew at the moment was that they had bar hopped until she could no longer walk and the whole time Bette was shoving vodka cranberries in her hand.

Dick looked at the other three, a little helplessly, until Bette calmed down enough to speak. “She’s had a lot. Everyone wanted to do a shot with or buy a drink for the birthday girl. But it’s probably been almost an hour or so since she last drank anything.”

Drunken Barbara took the opportunity to divulge again. “Guys, guess what! One time me and Dick totally had sex against that wall over there,” she said in a loud conspirator’s whisper as she pointed at the wall by the door.

Bette, Artemis, and M’gann looked at the wall she was pointing at then sharply looked back at a somewhat embarrassed Dick.

“As soon as the alcohol really started hitting her, she began giving up little tidbits like this. We now know quite a bit about yours and Barb’s sex life,” Artemis supplied, smirking.

“Fantastic,” he muttered. “Why exactly are you three still here? If you need to get going, I can handle taking care of her.”

“We also totally fucked on this couch once, remember Dick?” said Barbara, leaning back and staring at the ceiling fondly.

There was another amused silence.

“I think we just wanted to see what else she would say,” said M’gann with a shrug and the other two nodded in agreement. “I’ve never seen her so open before.”

Dick sighed, having a feeling he would probably be teased more than Barbara would for this night. “Well, do you want anything? Coffee? Cake? Babs, remember Alfred brought over a birthday cake. Did you want a piece?”

She looked over, trying to focus on him standing by the counter and said, “I want a piece of you, Babe.”

“Right, extra frosting then,” he said wearily, moving over to the kitchen as the other girls all gratefully accepted the offer of coffee and chocolate cake. The large corner piece of chocolate cake managed to occupy Barbara for a while so Dick used the opportunity to chat with the other girls.

“Wait, Miss Martian, can’t you just look into Dick’s memory and confirm that I was not saying ‘oh Robin’ in my sleep?” said Artemis suddenly.

“Miss Martian?” said Bette blankly.

“I thought you said she was in on the secret!” Artemis hissed at him.

“Me, I’m Martian,” said M’gann calmly. She suddenly turned green before their eyes. “See? My uncle is Martian Manhunter.”

Bette stared for a few seconds with her mouth slightly open. “Wow, I should hang out with you guys more often. You have the most interesting friends,” she said. “But you can change your appearance?”

“I can shapeshift, yes,” she confirmed.

“No wonder you’re so sober! I’ve been trying to figure it out all night! You’re so tiny but I swear you were drinking as much as me!” said Bette. “I just thought you were Irish or something.”

M’gann laughed. “Nope. Not even from Earth. But technically, I could probably alter my physiology enough to feel some effects of alcohol,” she mused thoughtfully.

“You should sometime. Just look at how much fun Barb is having,” said Bette, nodding at the redhead on the couch who was concentrating very hard on the large piece of cake before her. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but, like, can you shift into anybody?”

M’gann smirked and suddenly there was a second Bette standing in the room.

“Best party trick ever,” said Artemis appreciatively.

“Do Artemis next!” Bette requested excitedly. “And then Barbara!” She shifted into the other blonde then morphed into the birthday girl. “Can you do Dick?”

Nightwing stood before them, iconic smirk and everything.

“Much better than the last time you tried to impersonate me,” said Dick approvingly.

“I’ve been practicing.”

Barbara was done with her cake by then.

“Dick, at one place we went to, there was a stripper who kind of looked like you,” she said earnestly, looking up at him. “If the whole hero thing doesn’t work out, you would make a really hot stripper. Oh! I know, you should do a striptease for me for my birthday! I’m sure the girls won’t mind.”

Bette, Artemis, and M’gann looked at him expectantly.

“Babs, I’m not doing a strip tease in front of our friends,” he protested, gathering up the empty dishes.

“Oh, later then,” Barbara decided, yawning. “Really though, Dick, you’re so gorgeous. I mean, have you looked at him? Those pretty eyes and broad shoulders. That ass. Finest butt in the world, I’m sure. And I’m tapping that!” she finished with a triumphant fist pump.

Dick blushed again, depositing the empty plates in the sink as the girls all snickered again. He fixed her a cup of coffee and carefully handed it to her. “Here, maybe this will help you sober a little before going to bed,” he said gently.

She looked up him adoringly. “I love you, Dick.”

“I love you too, Babs,” he said, kissing her forehead and ignoring the chorus of “awws” coming from their audience. He straightened up and said wearily, “Alright, I think the show’s over for tonight. Thanks for bringing her home safe.”

Bette, Artemis, and M’gann took turns hugging and kissing Barbara, wishing her one last happy birthday. “Thank you so much for going out! I had so much fun,” the redhead was saying, beaming up at her friends.

“You better be taking care of our girl, Grayson,” said Artemis as they made their way to the door.

“I am, don’t worry. You three text me when you each get home. I want to know you’re safe,” he said, opening the door for them.

At last they were alone. Dick sat down on the couch next to her and she promptly crawled onto his lap. He quickly steadied the tipping coffee mug in her hand, glad he had the foresight to only fill it half ways before handing it to her.

“Here, finish this. How are you feeling?” he asked gently, helping her tip the mug up to her lips.

“Good, really good.” She gulped down the rest of the coffee.

“Okay, well, if you’re not tired, you should probably sober up a little more before bed,” said Dick, watching her lean over to set the cup down, tensing up in case he needed to catch her.

“Good idea. I know how we can pass the time,” said Barbara, her arms going around his neck as she kissed him. He held onto her, letting her take the lead. She tasted like coffee and chocolate frosting and lots of vodka. “Oh, I am so hot for you right now, Dick,” she said between kisses.

“Babe, you came home stumbling and slurring your words,” he said patiently.

“I’ve sobered up quite a bit since then,” she protested, pulling away slightly. “I probably shouldn’t drive a car but I think I could manage a straight line or reciting the alphabet backwards.”

“Babs …”

“And it’s my birthday,” she finished, kissing him again.

“You know, technically, it’s not your birthday anymore,” he commented.

“Shut up and kiss me, boy wonder,” she instructed.

About fifteen minutes later, Barbara had rested her head on his shoulder and did not move again right away. Her breathing got deep and steady, her grip on him going lax.

“Barbara …” he whispered.

She hummed in response but didn’t open her eyes.

Barbara awoke the next morning with a splitting headache and a turning stomach. She groaned, curling onto her side until the nausea passed. Sunlight from a gap in the window shades blinded her temporarily until she sat up and acknowledged her surroundings. Dick must have already gotten up; his side of the bed was empty and cold.

It took several tries to pull her body out of bed and to the bathroom. She clutched at the counter as the wave of dizziness passed and she was immensely proud of herself for not throwing up.

Her boyfriend was seated at the kitchen counter, working on the computer with a cup of coffee. He glanced up at her and smiled. “Good morning.”

“I am never drinking with Bette again,” Barbara declared, sitting on the other stool and resting her head and arms on the countertop.

“Would you like some aspirin? Toast? Coffee?” he offered, standing up and moving to one of the cupboards.

“Yes, yes, and no, water please,” she said.

“I talked to Zatanna and she made sure that any candid shots paparazzi might have gotten of you last night magically disappeared. So, don’t worry, your wild birthday night won’t make the news,” said Dick as he puttered around kitchen, making her breakfast.

“Remind me to text her thank you later.” She managed to sit up long enough to swallow a couple pain killers before sagging back onto the counter again.

“That being said, Artemis sent me plenty of pictures that she took so if you forgot anything they’re all there for us to look through.”

“Let’s not,” came her muffled voice.

“Any memory blanks at all?”

“Not really, it’s just kind of fuzzy. Ugh, what did I say? I kept saying things about you …”

“It was all very flattering,” he assured her.

“And I remember trying to seduce you, a lot.”

He set a plate of buttered toast before her, moving around to rub her shoulders soothingly.

“My head is pounding,” she complained, leaning into his touch.

“Finish your toast. At least it’s a weekend. And you asked for today off work, right?” He resumed his seat in front of the laptop as she nodded. “We can just hang out and watch movies all day until you’re feeling better. Hey, is this really you dancing on the bar?”

Barbara glared at him, reached over his keyboard, and promptly pressed the delete button.

 ***************************************

* * *

 

Unfortunately, it somehow did make the news.

A few pictures with her in the background surfaced online. The worst included her drunkenly dancing on tables and doing shots at the bar with random strangers. At least Bette was also in most of them so they could look like irresponsible party girls together.

Zatanna seemed even more upset when they talked to her the day after the pictures leaked.

“I’m so sorry, Barb!” she said as they video chatted with the magician. “I really thought my spell had gotten them all! It must have been the loophole I made for the pictures Artemis took. I just didn’t want you to be completely without memories of your birthday. I’m really sorry.”

The brunette looked close to tears.

“It’s okay, Zee. It’s not your fault. Can you redo the spell without the loophole?” said Barbara calmly.

“Yes, but it will erase all the pictures taken of you that night,” she warned.

“Do it, please. Dick made the picture of me dancing on the bar the background on his desktop. He refuses to change it,” said Barbara with a frown.

Zatanna laughed a little and assured her, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

And just like that, the pictures were mysteriously gone. The entertainment sites had no proof anymore of her birthday night and so had no choice but to move on to different news.

Still, Barbara felt like it was a good idea to humbly go visit her father and make sure he wasn’t being bothered again after her latest scandal. Instead, she got a completely different surprise, leaving her in a bit of a daze all the way home.

“Hey, how’s your dad doing?” Dick asked as she walked in the door of their apartment.

Barbara stood in the middle of the room with a completely bewildered look on her face. She didn’t know quite where to begin.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quickly when she failed to respond right away.

“My dad … had a woman over … I interrupted dinner,” said Barbara faintly. She sat down slowly on the couch, staring blankly ahead.

“Like a date? Way to go, Jim,” said Dick. “Wait, does that bother you? Your dad dating?”

“I …” She really didn’t know. Her mother had been gone a long time. But if her father ever had dates or showed interest in someone in the past, Barbara had been blissfully unaware. “I guess not. I just wish I had a little warning.”

“Well, it was just a date, right?” he assured her.

“Dinner at his apartment, that’s a little more intimate setting.”

“No more surprise visits then.”

“Dick, that’s my dad!” she exclaimed, scandalized.

“Well he knows not to surprise visit you! Did you meet her? What is she like?”

“Her name is Sarah,” she said slowly. “She seems nice. She claimed she was eager to meet me. I don’t know, Dick. The whole thing was just so awkward.” She rubbed her eyes, frustrated.

He rubbed her back consolingly.

“Why now of all times?”

“Crime is down in Gotham,” Dick answered, motioning to the case files he was working on before she got home. “He probably has had some free time.”

“Why?”

“Red Hood, probably. Scaring all the thugs out of town. Unfortunately, they’re coming to the ‘Haven to look for work. Up to staying in town tonight?” he said.

“Sure.”

“And speaking of surprising dates, apparently Hood has a lady friend following him around too,” said Dick, turning back to the computer.

“Who is she?” Barbara asked, moving closer.

He shrugged. “No clue. All I know is that she wears red.”

“Red Hood and Red … Lady…”

“Something like that.”


	6. Part Six

It was a party just like any other, the annual end of summer Bruce Wayne bash.

The Bat family was circling the room, mingling and waiting for a chance to escape the boredom. Bruce was working the room, loudly spreading tales of his supposed vacation and attracting as much attention as possible. Tim was awkwardly trying to ward off advances from debutants looking for dates; eventually he snuck off to a corner to text Cassie.

Dick and Barbara put on fake, cheerful smiles for the press and the other socialites, sometimes at each other’s sides and sometimes pulled apart by various people.

“Dr. Baird, I’m glad you could make it,” said Dick charmingly as they happened upon a young man standing by himself.

“One doesn’t turn down an invitation to a party like this, Mr. Grayson,” he said cheerfully. He looked about thirty, with light brown hair and a longish nose.

“Dr. Baird just started a few months ago at WE after finishing up a PhD in mathematics from MIT,” Dick explained to her. “Dr. Baird, this is my girlfriend, Barbara Gordon.”

“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Gordon.” He shook her hand.

Barbara smiled. Finally, someone she might actually be interested in talking with. “Likewise. You studied math at MIT? That’s incredible,” she said. “They have an excellent program.”

“Interested in math graduate work?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m majoring in math and computer science at Gotham U right now. I’m just starting to look at possible graduate programs,” she said.

It was enough to get the conversation going. Clearly, Dr. Baird had been suffering from a similar problem in that he found very few people he was interested in talking to at the party. She patiently listened to a brief overview of his graduate work and asked questions. At one point, Dick politely excused himself from the conversation and went to mingle some more, ending up dancing with several different people.

When he explained that he went to Gotham Academy on scholarship, Barbara laughed. “We were both mathaletes at GA. Dick still has his sweatshirt.”

 “No way, I was too!” he said, handing her a glass of champagne off the tray of a passing server.

A flash of a camera interrupted their laughter though. When Barbara turned towards the intrusion, a small recorder was shoved in her face.

“Barbara Gordon, I was wondering if I could ask a few questions?”

She wasn’t quick enough to decline. The woman steamrolled right over her attempts to protest.

“Who are you wearing tonight, Ms. Gordon?”

Barbara sighed. “I don’t really know. I just picked it off the rack at Macy’s,” she said wearily.

“Hmm, and where’s Dick Grayson tonight? Or is this your new escort for the evening?”

“Dick is out dancing, right over there, clearly visible.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the doctor shift uncomfortably.

“Right, and how do you feel about him choosing to dance with several different women, many of whom he’s been seen with before?”

“I don’t mind. He likes to dance. I was in the middle of a conversation. Please stop trying to make something out of nothing,” she said in an amazingly calm voice.

“Are you sure it doesn’t bother you?”

“No, it doesn’t,” she snapped, losing her patience at last. “Because at the end of the night, Dick is still coming home with me.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Barbara regretted them instantly. The reporter looked shocked, then delighted.  _Oh shit …_

“We have to go,” she said shortly, gently taking Dr. Baird’s arm and leading him away from the reporter. “I am so sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, the way they’ve been treating you is terrible. I don’t think I would have nearly the poise to handle that,” he said, smiling slightly. He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled kindly. “I haven’t known Richard very long, but the way he talks about you, well, if they heard what I have, they wouldn’t dare doubt you two.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“I’ll leave you to it then. It was wonderful talking to you,” he said, nodding over her shoulder before strolling away.

“Hey, you guys moved,” said Dick, walking up behind her.

Barbara turned around, biting her lip nervously. “I think I did a bad thing. I snapped at a reporter again,” she said quietly.

“What did you say?” he asked curiously.

“I told her it didn’t bother me that you were dancing with other women because you were going home with me,” she mumbled.

Dick snorted.

“It’s not funny.”

“It is a little bit,” he said gently, pulling her into a hug. Her arms latched around his middle and she rested her head on his chest. He kissed her temple.

“It really doesn’t bother me, you know. You like to dance. A lot of those girls are board members’ daughters. You have no choice but to be charming. I’m just tired of people thinking that it must bother me,” she muttered.

“I know, I’m sorry. Just hold onto me like you own my ass. Although if you grab it right now, they’ll definitely get a shot of it.”

She sighed, keeping her hands well above his waistline but inside his jacket, soaking up the warm comfort of his body. “And poor Dr. Baird is in that picture with me. I can only imagine what story they’ll make up around that.”

He laughed at that. “Well, the joke is on them if they bother to do research. Dr. Baird is gay.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, he and his partner live in a high rise downtown. Apparently they’re talking about trying to adopt a baby girl from China,” he said thoughtfully. “For some reason he couldn’t make it tonight…”

“Now I feel even worse about dragging him into my drama,” she groaned into his chest, closing her eyes and holding onto him a little tighter.

“Don’t worry, with any luck, Bruce will have done or said enough stupid things that this will be just a side note that’s easily forgotten,” he reassured her, rubbing her back soothingly. Tipping her chin up gently, he kissed her lips soundly. “Why don’t we just get out of here? I think we’ve stayed long enough.”

****

* * *

 

“Kyahh!”

Bang! The punching bag rocked back and forth as Barbara continued her angry barrage of stress relief in the Batcave, not noticing her audience.

“Whatever you do, don’t make a joke about her hormones,” Tim was muttering, rubbing his back.

“I would have thought you were smarter than that,” Bruce commented, raising an eyebrow.

“I am now.”

“Go upstairs, Tim. I need to speak with Barbara.”

“What if she really is, though? I mean, they’re at it all the time, Bruce!”

“Tim … Barbara is not pregnant. Now go upstairs,” said Bruce, rubbing tiredly at the bridge of his nose. He made a mental note to ask Dick to explain to his younger brother how pregnancies can be prevented as the boy trudged out of the gym and up the stairs to the manor.

“Barbara? Would you like to spar?” he asked lightly, staying well out of the range of her powerful kicks.

She whirled around, about to snap at the interruption but thought better of it when she realized who it was. Her jaw tightened slightly but she said, “Sure,” and they squared off in the middle of the mats.

Barbara attacked first, a kick that he easily deflected and returned with a punch. He noted that she had improved significantly, perhaps a result of having to step up her training to keep the city surviving while he was off world. She was also much more aggressive, although he figured part of that was due to her bad mood.

“I suppose you’re going to scold me for kicking Tim,” she said as they traded and deflected hits easily.

“No, it was a lesson he needed to learn,” said Bruce, getting a hold on her arm. She twisted and flipped out of the hold, adding a leg sweep that he easily jumped away from. “I’m sorry about what they’re doing to you, Barbara.”

“They just won’t quit!” she said angrily, punching blindly at him. “It’s like everyone thinks I’m not good enough!”

“You know the people who matter don’t think that,” he said calmly, going on defense as she took swings at him.

She looked away from him moodily. “It’s just getting to me. It’s all over the gossip shows and websites. And when we’re out, they keep trying to ask me questions to get me angry. And it’s so hard because it’s working. Last night was a disaster.”

They hadn’t been lucky. Almost as soon as they got home, her unfortunate interview and pictures were all over the internet. It got even worse that morning. She was in such a bad mood that she ended up having a tiff with Dick (who was not taking this near as seriously), finally snapping at him that she had work to do before storming out of the apartment.

 “You’re smart, Barbara,” said Bruce, evading her attack and using her momentum to unbalance her again. “You can’t let them get to you.”

She attempted to flip away but he ended up pinning her again.

“I apologize about last night. I invited Dr. Baird specifically because I thought you would like talking to him,” he said, twisting her arm slightly until she tapped.

“Really?”

“Are you not still looking at graduate programs?” he asked, offering her a hand up.

“I am … It’s not fair … things were going well, getting better at least. We moved in together and it miraculously didn’t completely fuck up our relationship,” she said, hanging her head. “This shouldn’t.”

“I know. Which is why I’m ordering you and Dick to stay out of the public eye until I say so,” said Bruce.

“I’m not giving them the satisfaction of chasing me away,” Barbara protested.

He shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that, Barbara. Media is very out of sight out of mind. They will move on to someone else, hopefully me if the opportunity arises.”

“Bruce, you don’t have to do anything stupid just for me,” she said wearily.

“The only reason the two of you made your relationship so public was to draw attention from me when I was off planet. This is absolutely my responsibility. Dick naturally inherited a reputation from me. I tend to forget at times that Bruce Wayne’s reputation affects more than just myself. I never meant for it to hurt all of you too. I’m sorry,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

It’s not often that the Batman apologizes to anyone. Barbara sighed and nodded her agreement. “Thanks.”

“There you are! I was getting worried until Tim called.”

Dick stood just inside the training room, looking relieved at the sight of them. Suddenly, Barbara really regretted not at least letting him know where she was headed. He was walking towards her and it took all of her willpower not to just jump into his arms right there.

“I’m sorry. I know I should be taking this more seriously. What can I do?” he asked sincerely.

“You both are going to stay out of the spotlight. No more parties. No more fancy dinners in downtown Gotham. Just keep to yourselves. You know how to avoid being seen. Do it,” said Bruce authoritatively. He nodded at the pair before leaving them alone.

“I can do that,” said Dick, smilingly slightly at her. “I really am sorry, Babs.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t really mad at you. You were just there,” she said ruefully. “I’m sorry.”

He put a hand up to her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. “You don’t have to do this alone, you know. We’re a team, you and I.”

*********************

* * *

 

Barbara slipped out the back staff entrance of the library and into the blistering August heat. She dug in her bag for sunglasses as she rounded the corner and ran into someone.

“Oh, good, I’m not late.” Her boyfriend had a baseball cap and sunglasses as well, part of their incognito act since Bruce had ordered them to stay out of the public’s eye.

“Nope, just in time. So what do you want to do?” she asked, falling into step and joining hands as they continued along the sidewalk. “It’s so hot out,” Barbara added distastefully.

“Hm, you know, Bruce has a pool that he hardly uses,” said Dick thoughtfully. “We should visit Tim.”

“Yeah, and its pretty early. We should invite everyone over. You think Bruce would mind?” she said, glancing at her watch.

“Nah, he won’t mind. That’s a great idea,” he said, pulling out his phone as she did the same.

An hour later, most of the older members of the team were gathered by the giant pool at the Manor. It was one of the first carefree gatherings they had in a while. Alfred had no problem with giving them permission and even aiding by providing food and drinks.

Dick and Conner made a valiant attempt at getting the very expensive outdoor grill to work (“we’re superheroes, goddammit, this shouldn’t be so difficult!”) until Alfred uncharacteristically rolled up his sleeves and took pity on them.

“Thanks for inviting me, Barb,” said Bette as they lounged at one end of the pool on floats. “My apartment complex has a pool but it’s always full of kids.”

“You think this is a step up?” Artemis commented, nodding as Dick took a running jump off the diving board, did several flips before cannonballing into the deep end of the pool. Somehow, the splash radius was bigger than expected, drenching Barbara, Artemis, and Bette. Conner, Kaldur, and M’gann were roaring with laughter as the three girls squealed.

After a few moments of Barbara yelling across the pool at her boyfriend, the three women managed settle down again.

“Good point,” Bette conceded as Barbara applied a third layer of SPF 85 to her pale skin. “Although, definitely better scenery,” she added with a smirk, glancing over at Conner, Kaldur, and Dick. “What’s his name again?”

“Kaldur,” Barbara supplied, tossing the sunscreen aside and settling on her floaty lounger.

“Hm, very fine,” said Bette appreciatively, watching him swim laps.

Barbara and Artemis traded wry looks, almost fearing for their Atlantean friend.

“Bette’s on the prowl,” said Barb dryly.

“Well, since Conner is no longer available …” Bette shrugged.

“You’re not bothered by that?” Artemis asked, raising an eyebrow.

“How could I be? Look at her, she has green skin and she’s still adorable,” she said kindly. “I can’t believe you guys have been hiding all of your attractive male teammates for so long.”

“You really have no concept of a secret identity, do you.”

“But you have to tell me more about this girl with Tim,” said Bette, lowering her voice. The three observed Cassie and Tim, hanging on pool rings and grinning at each other. “They’re super cute together.”

“Yeah,” the other two agreed.

There was a commotion by the sliding glass door and a tall, disapproving figure stepped outside.

“Dick? Would you like to explain?” said Bruce, arms folded. He was still in his business clothes, obviously having just come from the office.

“Well …” said Dick sheepishly. Everyone was caught between terror and just trying not to laugh. Apparently no one had thought to ask Batman if they could have a pool party in his backyard.

“I was under the impression you didn’t live here anymore,” Bruce intoned dryly.

“Tim invited us. It would have been rude to decline. Hey, why don’t you grab your Bat-trunks and join us! Alfred is being very not-British and grilling hot dogs for us,” Dick improvised quickly.

In that moment, Bruce had never looked less like Batman and more like an exasperated parent than Barbara ever remembered seeing him. He was clearly torn between wanting to save face in front of half the team and wanting to provide supervision for a bunch of kids in his pool. “Just don’t make a mess,” he finally said, turning to go back inside.

They all crowded around the picnic table under the giant umbrella, talking and laughing over dinner. Conner was explaining how Clark and Lois were getting him an internship at the Daily Planet. Bette flirted with a bemused Kaldur. Tim shot furtive glances at Cassie in her swimsuit. At one point, Bruce came outside again, more casually dressed, and stood next to Alfred, observing the impromptu gathering. Barbara looked over at Dick, smiling when their eyes met, then glanced at Artemis next to her. The blonde looked tearful, yet happy.

And then Artemis did something completely unexpected and stood up, getting everyone’s attention immediately.

“Since you’re all here, I have something I need to say,” she began, voice wavering slightly. “It’s August 20th.”

There was a sad pause; a few who were so inclined, glanced heavenwards.

“Friends are the family you chose and I really couldn’t ask for a better group of them. I know we all still really miss … him … And well, unfortunately, I’m going to have to take some time off soon from the team.” She swallowed nervously, looking at everyone around the table. “You see, as of today, I’m officially two months pregnant. I guess the world isn’t ready to let go of Wally West that easily,” she finished with a weak laugh, her eyes very watery.

The information sunk in very slowly until M’gann leapt up and pulled her into a hug. It seemed to spark the whole table into cheering and congratulations, each person taking turns to pile on what was quickly turning into a group embrace. Dick hugged around her middle, planting a kiss on her stomach (Artemis raised her eyebrows) and saying, “Welcome to the team, baby speedster.”

“Alright, that’s enough, there will be plenty of opportunity to pet my stomach obnoxiously for the next seven months or so,” said Artemis, rolling her eyes and pushing Dick off, but she was laughing.

Suddenly the day seemed a little brighter than before.

 

****************************

* * *

 

“Wow.”

“Mhm.”

“I mean, really, Babs … just, wow…”

Barbara chuckled lightly, running her fingers through his hair as his head rested on her shoulder. His hand found her other one and laced their fingers after he pulled the sheet up around them.

“Where did you even come up with that?” Dick asked, still sounding winded and amazed.

“That’s for me to know,” she said simply, still gently massaging his scalp.

“I think it was better than our version of maneuver seven.”

She giggled again. Their bodies were still somewhat entwined, their legs tangled, as they both relaxed.

“Let’s just say that we have some mutual friends very interested in keeping our sex life successful,” Barbara said, thinking about that afternoon’s conversation with Artemis and Bette.

“It’s pretty much always a success. I don’t think we could possibly have bad sex, even if we tried,” he rambled, kissing her collarbone, eyes closing lazily.

They fell quiet, cuddling contently in the afterglow. Barbara looked down at him, noting the relaxed, closed eyes and genuinely happy smile.

“You look so happy,” she murmured after a while.

“Today, I am,” he said.

“Because of what Artemis told us?”

“It’s almost like having him back. A part of him, at least. He didn’t just disappear. There’s proof he was here,” he said in a hushed voice.

She hesitated before saying, “Artemis asked M’gann and I both to be godmothers. She said she would have asked you, because she knew that’s what Wally would want, but she also knew he would want to ask you himself.” She heard his breath hitch and wrapped her arms around him tighter. “She also knew that she didn’t have to ask, that you would do anything to protect Wally’s baby.”

“She’s right.” He exhaled heavily and she could have sworn there were a few drops of moisture on her shoulder. “I love you, Barbara,” he added.

*********************

* * *

 

“Well this is strange,” said Barbara, scrolling through her case notes on the laptop. They were lounging in bed a few evenings later, her working on the Red Hood case while Dick was doing homework. He had procrastinated on almost all of his coursework during the summer but now that the session was ending, he really needed to get it finished.

“Hmm? Hey, do you remember what the integral of cosine of x is?” he asked vaguely, tongue stuck out in concentration as he worked on math.

“Sine of x.”

 “Thanks. And what’s the sine of two pi over three?

“Radical three over two. Dick, stop asking me to do your homework for you. You should have finished it before when you had more time,” she chided gently.

“Just one more, please?”

“Fine,” she relented.

“Do I have to use the chain rule for this one?” He showed her the problem.

“Yes.”

“Okay, what’s the integral of e to the x?”

“Dick, you were a mathalete! Does it not say Grayson on the back of this?” Barbara motioned to the sweatshirt of his that she sometimes borrowed to relax in and was currently wearing.

He didn’t ask her any more calculus questions.

“What did you find that’s strange?” he asked, finishing the assignment and closing his book.

“These last couple of Red Hood murders. Look,” she said, pointing to the screen.

“Possible associates and connections … Seth Ackerman? Huh, that’s interesting.”

Barbara chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Not in Gotham.

“You think there’s a connection?” he asked, seeing the look on her face.

“I don’t know. Maybe we should look into Bette’s case again.”

“I doubt it has to do with that. Word on the street is that Hood has been taking control of some pretty heavy crime bosses. Apparently he even has Black Mask under his thumb. The toss up in management is making all the lower level thugs come down river for work,” Dick added, looking irritated. “As if Bludhaven didn’t have enough problems.”

“You think he’s also trying to get control of Ackerman’s trade business?”

“Most likely,” he said with a nod. “Although he hasn’t baited us in a while. Perhaps tomorrow we should spend the night in Gotham, see if we can get a chance to ask him ourselves,” he pondered.

“Good idea. But I’m still going to look into Bette’s case, since it’s become relevant now,” Barbara decided, making a note in the file before signing off the computer. Next to her, Dick was putting away his math homework for the evening and preparing to go to bed. She shrugged off the sweatshirt and snuggled up to him after he had turned out the light. “I’m sorry I snapped at you,” she murmured into his shoulder.

“No, it’s okay, you were right. I have no excuse to slack off on schoolwork. It’s not like I’m as busy as you are with the team,” he said.

“I’m sorry if I haven’t been around enough for you.”

He hugged her a little tighter and kissed her forehead. “You are, don’t worry.”


	7. Part Seven

He had shot Robin, point blank. There was really nothing they could have done to stop him. Both she and Nightwing were too far away to dramatically jump in front of the bullet. All they could do was watch as Tim sunk to the ground, blood trickling from the wound, while Red Hood made his escape.

It was all a bit of a blur as Batgirl quickly radioed Batman and rushed forward to help Robin. She gently placed a hand over the bullet applying light pressure. The placement didn’t look too serious, his upper abdomen and to the side. He coughed then groaned when the motion agitated the wound. His eyes widened slightly as he gazed over her shoulder.

“Nightwing! No!” he shouted.

Batgirl whirled around as Nightwing furiously prepared to go chasing after Red Hood. Before he could throw his line, she tackled him to the ground, wrenching his arm behind his back.

“Listen to me, Dick!” she hissed in his ear. “He’s gone, we need to help Robin until B gets here. Now pull it together! Go sit by your brother!”

He glared at her but kneeled next to Tim, putting his hands over the wound, attempting to stop the bleeding.

“Izz not really bad,” Tim was muttering. “Doesn’t hurt much. I think my armor stopped most of it.”

“Be quiet, Tim. Just focus on not passing out,” Batgirl ordered, cradling his head.

“No names in the field,” he quipped lazily.

Batman arrived very quickly, whisking the younger boy back to the Batcave. Nightwing stared at the puddle of blood on the ground, his hands shaking. Batgirl pulled him over to his bike, settling in front of him, not trusting him to drive at the moment, and they took off after the Batmobile.

It was a long night of waiting as Alfred worked on Tim, allowing only Barbara to help for part of it since she was the only coolheaded one of them. By dawn, Leslie Thompkins had been by and given Alfred’s work her seal of approval, ordering Tim to bed rest for the foreseeable future. He had been right in his earlier assessment that the light armor on his costume managed to stop the bullet from entering too far. Tim was very lucky.

“I suppose it would be pointless to tell all of you to relax,” said Leslie wearily regarding the other three heroes spread around the medical station. “Make sure Tim understands that he is absolutely confined to bed rest for the next two weeks.”

Barbara curled up on the spare cot in the corner while the other two sprawled in armchairs next to Tim’s bed. The boy looked so pale and small but his heartbeat beeped strong and steady on the monitor next to him.

She awoke so suddenly that it surprised her she was even asleep. The room had been dimmed but she could see the outline of Alfred making adjustments to the IV and examining vitals.

“How is he doing?” she whispered, unfolding her stiff limbs and climbing off the cot. She noted that Dick and Bruce were both still asleep.

“Master Tim will survive. I am almost certain of it, if only out of sheer will power,” said Alfred softly, straightening up. “He has an enormous sense of duty.”

Before she could stop herself, she was hugging the older man, a lump in her throat and tears clouding her eyes. She sniffled as he hesitantly returned the embrace.

“There, there, my dear. Everything will be okay,” he said soothingly. “You performed most admirably this morning in the face of tragedy. Your swift thinking actions certainly contributed to bringing the whole family home safe.”

Barbara slowly pulled away, offering a small smile. “Thanks, Alfred,” she said softly.

 _Everyone should have an Alfred_ …

On the other side of the room, Dick finally stirred. “Tim?” he asked blearily.

“Doing well,” said Barbara, walking over to him. “You should get up, it can’t be comfortable sleeping in that chair,” she added, rubbing his shoulder soothingly.

“I’m fine,” he muttered, leaning forward slightly.

“No, come on, you need a shower and some breakfast. Tim is still sleeping. You need to take care of yourself now,” she insisted, tugging on his hand now.

Dick looked over at Alfred for a second opinion.

“Miss Barbara is correct. You are relieved from your bedside duties for now, Master Dick,” said the butler. His tone was obvious.  _Listen to that woman and get your butt out of that chair now, young man…_

Dick allowed her to pull him to his feet and they trudged out of the infirmary.

Still holding his hand, she pulled him along the back hallway of the cave, where the changing rooms were located. She stalked directly past the designated boys’ shower rooms to her own personal chamber, much further down the cavern.

She felt him hesitate at the entrance.

“I’m not allowed in here …” he muttered blankly.

“Did you want to be alone right now?” she asked him calmly.

He swallowed and nervously shook his head.

“We live together. Trust me, no one cares,” she assured him, pulling him into the room.

Dick stood in the middle of the room, mildly interested in the set-up and how it was a slightly smaller (and less blue) version of the other room. He was still in his uniform, except for the mask and belt. Barbara helped him undress then pushed him towards the showers.

“Go on, I’ll go put this away and get you a change of clothes,” she said, holding up his discarded suit.

When she returned a few minutes later with sets of pajamas for both of them, she was somewhat shocked to find him seated on the floor under the shower spray, arms on his knees and head tucked down. “Oh, Dick,” she murmured, quickly stripping off her tights and undershirt and stepping into the shower.

Barbara kneeled next to him and for a moment, just held him close. He wasn’t crying, not yet, but she knew he was dwelling. She didn’t say anything but gently started washing his hair and then moved behind him to massage his shoulders, the hot water and her fingers working through the tension in his muscles.

Slowly, Dick started to relax under her hands, accepting her comfort. “Babs,” he breathed, his head leaning back on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, babe,” she said, kissing his neck encouragingly. He was starting to become aroused.

“I … I’m sorry, I didn’t mean …” he said haltingly.

“Dick, we’re wet and naked. I would be a little more surprised if it didn’t,” she assured him. Her hand reached around his middle to gently clasp around his length, stroking and fondling him as he grew.

With a sharp intake of breath, he said, “Babs, you don’t have do anything, really, it’s okay …”

She crawled around to straddle his crossed legs, hand still on him. “Listen to me. It’s okay to want to feel good,” she said, looking at him intently. Maintaining eye contact, she slowly slid over him, replacing her hand.

His arms went around her, hands gripping at her back tightly, and his eyes closed as she adjusted around him. She just always felt like home.

She tilted his head up so she could kiss him tenderly while she gradually rocked her hips. He was clutching her so tightly, drinking up all the physical comfort she offered. It wasn’t the first time they had clung to each other so desperately. And knowing their lives, it wouldn’t be the last.

 “Barbara …” He murmured her name, his voice rumbling against her wet skin. “Don’t leave me …”

“Never,” she promised. How many times had they made this oath to each other, knowing it was senseless? Maybe just the assurance that they wouldn’t leave each other willingly was enough.

“I’m so tired of losing …”

Her heart almost broke all over again at his words. Barbara rolled her hips a little faster against him. His hands would probably leave bruises on her skin but she didn’t care.

Their gasps echoed in the cavernous, tiled room as they found release. For a long time, they stayed wrapped in each other, reluctant to let go.

“Water is getting cold,” she said, holding her hand under the spray interestedly. “We should get out.”

“Babs,” he said, caressing her cheek and tucking her hair behind her ear. “Thank you …”

“Dick, I’ll always be here for you.”

 

 *************************************

* * *

 

The next night found Barbara on the Watchtower, needing a break from the dreariness of the cave. Tim had been awake and coherent for several hours, not in much pain thanks to the drugs, nor showing any early signs of infection. Yet Dick and Bruce hovered like he was on his deathbed. She tried not to hold it against them; they had lost a precious bird before.

But she needed a respite and the Watchtower computers were just as good as the Batcave ones for her purposes.

“Batgirl! Is Robin here yet? I haven’t heard from him all day.”

Barbara tensed, realizing what exactly she had not thought of when she decided to come up here. She slowly turned to see Cassie walking towards her, a puzzled look on her face.

“Cassie …” Barbara said slowly. “Something’s happened last night …”

Cassie went pale, her eyes widening. “Oh, god, no what happened? Is he okay? Please-“

“No, no, it’s okay, Cassie! Tim is alive, he’s been injured, but he’s going to be fine, I promise,” Barbara said quickly, putting her hands on the younger girl’s shoulders. “The bullet didn’t hit anything vital. He lost some blood, but he’s recovering. And he seemed to be awake and fine earlier when I left.”

“He’s hurt?!” Her voice went higher than usual and tears formed in her eyes. “He got shot!?”

“Yes, but he will be fine, I swear, Cassie,” Barbara assured her.

“Oh, Barbara!” she cried, suddenly hugging her around the waist. Slightly surprised, Barbara comfortingly wrapped her arms around Cassie, trying not to wince at the tight grip.

“It’s okay, I promise. I know, you really care about him, don’t you,” she said soothingly, feeling the blonde nod into her shoulder. “Those Robin boys just have a way of making us fall for them. I’m convinced it’s the blue eyes,” she added gently, eliciting a weak giggle from her.

Cassie reluctantly let go, wiping her eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your work,” she sniffled.

“It’s okay, it’s not important at the moment,” Barbara decided. She put an arm around her shoulders and led her towards the zeta room. “Let’s go see if your boy is awake, okay?”

They arrived shortly at the Batcave, where Nightwing met them, looking somewhat confused at their presence.

“Hey, where’s B?” Barbara asked, leading the way down from the platform.

“Batman went out, probably hunting Red Hood,” said Nightwing, looking slightly annoyed that he had not been included. “Hi Cassie,” he added.

“Heya, boss,” said the blonde with a small smile.

“I’m not team leader anymore,” he reminded her gently.

“Sorry, force of habit.”

“Is Tim awake?” Barbara asked.

“Yeah, here, wait and let me go make sure Alfred is done with him,” said Dick, turning and heading off to the medical bay. He rounded the corner and hurried into the antechamber, finding Alfred adjusting the IV next to his bed. Suddenly, he felt inspired to make this encounter successful.

“Okay, Tim, here’s how this is going to go,” he began, striding towards the younger teen. He helped him sit up properly and pulled the sheet down low on his hips.

“What are you doing?” Tim hissed, attempting to pull it back up his bare chest. “I’m like naked under here!”

“In about thirty seconds Cassie is going to walk in here. Let her ogle over your bare chest and the epic gunshot battle wound, okay? Trust me, chicks dig it. And when you tell the story, elaborate a little about how you saved me and Batgirl from the evil villain, Red Hood,” said Dick, adjusting the sheets and pillows again. He then rummaged in some drawers.

“Alfred?” Tim asked, glancing at the elder butler.

“In these matters, I would advise you to defer to Master Dick’s expertise,” said Alfred, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as he left the room.

“Aha! Here, have a mint, quick,” said Dick urgently, shoving the small tin in his face. As Tim crunched on the stale, most likely expired wintergreen, Dick continued speaking hurriedly. “Are you in pain? Are you loopy from the drugs? Alfred just adjusted your painkillers, right? Do you feel sick?”

“I’m fine, Dick, really. Sore and tired but just fine,” Tim assured him. “What’s Cassie even doing here?”

“I dunno, she and Babs just showed up. Okay, now play it cool. If you need anything, we’ll be outside so just holler,” his older brother finished quietly as the two women eventually rounded the corner.

“Tim!”

She practically flew across the room (actually, she probably did fly across the room) and hugged him.

“Ow! Careful, Cass!”

“Sorry! Sorry, did I hurt you!? Are you okay?” Cassie said, quickly letting go of him, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Tim glanced over her shoulder to see Dick grinning encouragingly at him as Barbara pulled him out of the room. He smiled at her and said, “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Barbara brought me straight here as soon as she told me you were hurt. Is this where it happened?” she asked, her finger tips trailing over his skin at the edge of the bandaging.

He tensed slightly, more at her touch than because he was in pain. “Yeah, I’d show you but it’s kind of gruesome. And I don’t think Alfred would like it if I messed up his work,” he said, swallowing nervously. Tim was really wishing she would move her hand.

“Some other time then,” said Cassie, finally moving her hand but placing it now on his upper chest. It wasn’t much of an improvement. He resisted the temptation to fidget and draw attention to the parts of his body barely concealed by the flimsy sheet.

She leaned forward and gently kissed him. It was supposed to be perfectly normal for them. They definitely had spent the last couple months sneaking off to make out. But that was all clothed. In fact the most undressed he had seen her was last week at the pool party. Maybe all the medicine he was on was making him more anxious about this. Or maybe it was just the simple fact that her hands were all over his skin. _Please don’t get hard in front of her_  …

Cassie must have noticed his lack of enthusiasm since she pulled back and looked at him curiously. “Tired?” she guessed.

“Um, yeah, sorry. But I really am glad you’re here,” he added again quickly, latching onto the excuse. Actually, it was pretty truthful. The painkillers did make him a little drowsy.

She smiled again, and then glanced down ( _dammit!_ ) at his lap and the sheet covering his legs, then back up at him.

“Are you not wearing any clothes?” she asked shrewdly.

Tim couldn’t help but blush in reply.

She giggled. “Figures, the first time I get you naked in bed, you’re recovering from a gunshot wound,” she said, grinning.

His eyes widened and he was pretty sure he was blushing even redder now.

“Like you haven’t thought of it, Boy Wonder. There’s only so many times you can use the excuse ‘that’s my utility belt.’”

“I, uh, yeah, well …”

“It’s okay, here,” she said, gingerly getting up and readjusting, careful not to pull his sheet down further. “Scoot over a little. We’ll just cuddle okay. Comfortable?” She had settled next to him, placing his arm around her shoulders.

“Yeah, thanks.”

She kissed his cheek lightly then rested her head on his shoulder.

Outside in the hallway, Dick and Barbara eavesdropped with hands clasped over their mouths to stifle their amusement. She motioned for him to follow and they quietly tiptoed back into the main part of the cave where they could finally let out their giggles.

“Maybe you should give Tim a few pointers,” said Barbara, her cheeks red.

“Trying not to get a boner when you’re fifteen and making out with your girlfriend is more difficult than it sounds,” he told her, eyes alight with mirth.

They finally managed to control their laughter. Dick stood with a thoughtful look on his face.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Just thinking of another Boy and Girl Wonder,” he said, smiling sadly.

Barbara glanced over at the preserved costume in its glass case.

“Yeah, Jason had the biggest crush on Donna,” she recalled.

“He drove her crazy with his flirting,” Dick agreed fondly.


	8. Part Eight

Over the next couple of days, Tim improved enough to be moved upstairs to him room. It had also been decided for him that if he was coherent enough to sass back during bandage changing, he could start case work again.

Luckily, Alfred also allowed Cassie to visit almost every afternoon to keep him company. Suddenly, Tim was very good at being a helpless patient.

There was a slight awkward moment when the girl exuberantly offered to help the clan catch Red Hood. Bruce had curtly said no and strode out of the room, leaving Dick, Tim and Barbara to attempt to explain his actions.

“Look, Cassie, you’ve definitely gotten a lot better at covert missions,” said Barbara carefully.

“And we’re not saying it wouldn’t be useful to have all that power on our side,” Dick added.

“But you’re still not to the level of stealth we require. This case is less about fighting and more about detective work at this point anyway,” Barbara finished, watching as her face fell.

“But I could help! I could! And I promise to do everything you say!” Cassie said quickly.

Barbara and Dick traded helpless looks.

“Cassie, I’d really rather you just stay here with me anyway,” said Tim quietly. “They’ve got it handled.” While he agreed that his girlfriend was not the best choice for this mission, he wasn’t stupid enough to tell her that. He just wished he didn’t have to be left behind.

Cassie relented at his words and resumed her place next to him. “Okay.”

They left the two teens cuddled on the bed, watching some movie marathon on TV.

Downstairs, Batman was already suited up and waiting for them in front of the computer, outlining their routes and targets for the night.

“Did you leave the door open?” he asked sharply.

“Really? They’re not doing anything, Bruce,” said Dick, rolling his eyes. “Tim has a gunshot wound. All they’re doing is watching a movie.”

“Dick, you don’t understand.”

“I don’t? So, you aren’t just upset that we brought Cassie over without your permission? Do you actually disapprove of her and Tim?”

“No, but her mentor is Wonder Woman,” he said stiffly.

“He’s worried this will ruin his chances if something goes wrong between them. You don’t need to though. Diana is very fair. And she really likes Tim,” said Barbara, pulling on her mask and cape.

“Wait, you and Wonder Woman?” said Dick gleefully.

“Get ready to go. We have work to do,” growled Batman, stalking away from them.

The first few nights out was a lot of ground work, just simply finding the right people and asking the right questions, providing the right bribes and persuasions. They had a lot of clues but very little concrete leads. Matches Malone had even been seen a few times in some of the seedier bars in town, keeping an ear out for rumors.

Barbara ended up devoting most of the week to Gotham. Kaldur had understood when she explained the situation at home and offered the team’s resources. She refused. This was a family thing. Red Hood had made it personal when he shot Robin in cold blood.

Personally, Barbara really wanted nothing more than to punch that damn helmet right off his face.

But for now they had work to do.

“Oh come on, man, I wasn doin’ nothing!” the greasy looking little man complained as Batgirl and Nightwing cornered him one night. “Look! Pockets empty! See?”

“We need information, Slugs,” said Nightwing with an incredible amount of patience.

Slugs sniffed indignantly, brushing off his dirtied lapels. It didn’t make much of a difference on the layers of filth and grime coating his ratty trench coat. He was short and wiry with a crooked nose and beady eyes. And he was just as much likely to sell out a villain as he would a hero.

“It’ll cost ya.”

Nightwing passed over some cash which Slugs eagerly grabbed up, giving the note a sniff before stuffing it in his pocket. He cleared his throat, trying to look self-important.

“What do you wanna know?” He eyed Batgirl interestedly; Nightwing caught the look and gritted his teeth angrily.

“Red Hood, the girl following him around, or Ackerman,” Batgirl demanded, ignoring the gross looks the wannabe thug was giving her.

“Shh, you don’t just go shoutin’ names like that! Now. Broad wearing the red? Got a mean kick. Nice legs though,” said Slugs.

“Can you tell us more about her?”

“Heard she’s callin herself Flamebird. I dunno, sometimes she’s with Hood, sometimes he’s by himself. Word is he’s been anglin’ afta A’s business. Might be making A come outta hiding early to protect his holdings.”

Batgirl and Nightwing glanced at each other then back at their snitch.

“Where’s he going to be? Where’s his latest hideout?”

“I might be able to acquire a location for a fee …”

Nightwing glared but pulled out another crisp twenty. “That’s all you’re getting,” he warned.

“Quite the cheapskate you’re shackin’ up with, sweetheart,” said Slugs, openly leering at Batgirl who narrowed her eyes. “I’d spen’ more n’ a pretty penny on you, love.”

“Hey!” Nightwing was having none of that. He grabbed Slugs by the collar, pushing him violently against the brick wall. “You don’t talk to her or even look at her without the utmost respect. You understand me? That woman could easily kick your sorry ass to next Tuesday and back.”

Batgirl had folded her arms and regarded him with a cool stare.

“Alrigh, alrigh, jeez, sorry,” he whined and Nightwing let him go. Slugs started edging away from them.

“Get our location by tomorrow night, Slugs! Don’t let me regret letting you go!” Nightwing called after him as he stumbled as quickly as he could out of the alleyway. “And don’t you dare think of going to Bludhaven!”

“My hero,” said Batgirl dryly.

“Okay, before you get mad at me, just remember that I love you,” he said quickly. “And I’m just tired of him and every other bit of scum we’ve talked to being total assholes to my girlfriend.”

“What would I ever do without a gentleman like you to defend my honor,” she teased him, the corner of her mouth quirked up in amusement. She wasn’t mad; she knew he didn’t think she was helpless. It was a sweet gesture.

“You’re teasing me,” Nightwing said shrewdly.

Batgirl stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek and said, “Come on, Hunk wonder, let’s get a move on.”

********************

* * *

 

The next night found the group hurrying for the address Slugs provided them. He had decided to be super irritating and hinted that something might be going down tonight, right now. They really had no choice but to follow up on the lead.

“Go in without me,” Batman instructed them over earpieces. “I’m enroute.”

Batgirl and Nightwing quietly slipped inside by a skylight on the ceiling of the building, landing on an old catwalk. From there, they observed the meeting.

Seth Ackerman stood with four of his cronies in the middle of the room, talking shipments and distributing.

There was a sudden disturbance on the ground and shots rang out. Instantly the thugs pulled out guns, closing around Ackerman. The crime boss ducked under the table fearfully as the men were taken out one by one.

Red Hood appeared in view, guns held out but not shooting at Ackerman.

“Get up, I’ve got a deal to make you,” said Hood.

Batgirl and Nightwing nodded at each other, silently understanding the plan, and moved into action. They dropped from the ceiling silently behind Red Hood.

“That’s enough Hood,” said Nightwing casually, holding a bird-a-rang in his hand.

Red Hood whirled around, training a gun on the pair of them and still on the man cowering under the table.

“Not you again. I shot your little bird. Don’t think I won’t hesitate to shoot you too,” he warned.

And then the front doors to the building opened and more of Ackerman’s goons lumbered in, guns blazing. Suddenly, everything got a lot more chaotic.

Batgirl, Nightwing, and Red Hood were each dodging bullets, the two heroes throwing their bat-a-rangs and taking out a few of the guards. Out of the corner of her eye, Batgirl thought she saw a flash of red and gold. Then she was too absorbed in the fight to figure out what it was.

There were too many of them with heavy artillery. Batgirl and Nightwing ended up back to back as five men with machine guns cornered them.

“Dammit,” he muttered softly.

“B should be here by now,” she assured him, barely moving her lips to speak.

“Restrain them, please,” Red Hood drawled. And suddenly they understood that this was Red’s back up, not Ackerman’s.

Speaking of the crime boss, he was no longer under the table but on his feet with someone in crimson leaning over him, pressing a long knife to his neck. The woman was tall, with long blonde hair.

“Flamebird?” Batgirl questioned.

The woman turned her head. She wore orange goggles over her eyes and her hair was pulled back in a different style. But there was no mistaking that face.

Her jaw dropped. “Bette!? You’re Flamebird?!” Batgirl cried. “You’re working with Red Hood! What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, Barb. You just weren’t taking care of it fast enough,” Bette explained calmly. She had Ackerman by the scruff and the knife still just under his chin. The man’s eyes were wide with terror at the dagger and the gun Red Hood had lazily trained on him.

“Come on, sweetheart. Finish him,” said Hood gently.

Yet Bette still stood there, angry and scarred, neither making a move to let him go nor actually to kill him.

“Bette! You’re not a murderer! Stop this!” Batgirl shouted, struggling against the strong hands on her arms.

“You won’t get away with this Hood!” Nightwing added.

“Shut up, Wing,” said Hood with disdain. “Come on, Flame. Finish the job. Remember what he did to you! What he was going to do! You think he’d think twice about trying make a profit off you again if he could? He’s a piece of dirt that doesn’t deserve to live!”

She was shaking, drawing in shuddering breaths as she stared into the eyes of the man who had so callously torn apart her family. The man responsible for her nightmares, for all the feelings of inadequacy. She had him completely at her mercy. One quick swipe and he would be gone.

“Do it already!” Hood urged her impatiently.

“You don’t have to do this to get your revenge, Bette! You caught him, okay? We’ll take him in! Justice will be served!”

“Bette, if you kill him, we’ll have no choice but to take you in too along with your partner here,” Nightwing reminded her.

Hood scoffed. “You seem to be forgetting who has the guns trained on who,” he snapped.

They both felt more than really saw the flicker in the shadow. Years of training made them almost able to predict exactly what they were expected to do.

The bat-a-rangs flew so fast, it almost looked like the three armed guards collapsed for no reason. Batgirl and Nightwing sprang into action, going for the remaining two goons while Batman leapt from the shadows at Red Hood. There was an “oof!” and Batgirl turned to see Bette on her knees and doubled over while Seth Ackerman attempted to escape.

Leaving Nightwing to dispatch the now disarmed thugs, she ran after Ackerman, throwing her bat-bolas and tripping him up. Cold grey eyes glared up at her as she cuffed his hands.

Batgirl looked up to see Bette standing at her side, knife still loosely held in her hand as she stared down at the man with the deepest loathing. Roughly, she pulled the man up to his knees, still restraining him.

“Drop the knife,” said Batgirl, using the voice that commanded authority.

The knife clattered to the ground.

“If you want to take your shot at him, do it now,” said Batgirl harshly. “If you think it will help you, if you think it will make you feel better. Now is your chance.”

“She didn’t even have it in her to do it before,” Ackerman sneered.

Bette gritted her teeth and turned away, her hands balling into fists. Then she spun around and punched him in the face.

“Agh! Jesus Christ! You fucking cunt!” he screamed at her, struggling and spitting out blood. A couple of teeth clattered to the floor in the mouthful of crimson. “This ain’t over! I got people! I’ll make sure you regret this-“

“Enough!” growled the real Bat voice. He cowered again as Batman towered over them. With a quick nerve pinch, he went slack and Batgirl carefully laid him on his side so he wouldn’t choke on his own blood.

They turned to where Nightwing was restraining Red Hood.

“You shot my little brother, Red. I’m not too happy about that,” Nightwing said lightly, pressing a knee into his back.  

Batman nodded at him and Nightwing turned him over and pulled off the helmet.

There was silence.

“I admit, this wasn’t how I planned this reunion …”

He looked like Jason Todd. He sounded like Jason Todd.

“Jason …” said Nightwing, his grip on the younger man going slack.

“Who are you?” Batman barked, hackles raised defensively.

He pulled off the domino mask.

He had blue eyes like Jason Todd.

Barbara gasped, putting a hand to her mouth and getting his attention.

“Looking good, Barbie,” he said with a familiar smirk.

“How …”

“This isn’t possible. Jason Todd died over a year ago. Who are you and why are you impersonating him?” Batman demanded. There was a slight hitch in his voice, the barest hint hysteria undetectable except to the ones who knew him best. It was unnerving; Batman himself was falling apart.

“Did you even bother to check that it was my body you buried?” he asked angrily. “I mean, could you make it any easier for them to steal it?”

“Jason … what have you done? You shot Robin!” said Dick.

“Yeah, I shot the damn kid you let wear my uniform! What did you do? Pick up a new brother on the way home from my funeral?” Jason snarled. “Agh! What the hell?”

Barbara had seized the opportunity while he wasn’t paying attention to kneel down and snag a handful of his hair, placing it carefully in an evidence bag in her belt. “We’ll find out for sure if you’re telling the truth,” she said, attempting to keep her voice steady. Stranger things than dead sidekicks coming back from the grave had happened in the past year.

“Then I guess we’re done here.”

Jason, taking advantage of Dick’s slackened grip, flipped out of his hands, aiming a kick at his face and drawing a small pistol from a concealed ankle holster. Even with his hands zip-tied together, he was able to point it at the three of them, backing away slowly.

“Jason, please, let us help you,” Bruce said at last, his voice catching slightly on the name.

“Too late for that, Bruce. You’ve already proven you didn’t really want me. Try not to let the replacement cross me again,” he said, glaring. “I’m going to clean up Gotham better that you ever could!”

“Please, Jason, wait!” She started forward but he was already at the side door. They were all too in shock to follow him.

“What jus’ happened?” said Dick thickly, nose bleeding from where he’d been kicked.

*************

* * *

 

Barbara had insisted on taking Bette home. The two girls were awkwardly quiet as they sped through the city on the back of her Bat-cycle, finally coming to a stop in the alley behind her apartment building.

“Bette, wait, I need to talk to you,” said Barbara as the other girl climbed off the bike and handed back the helmet. She looked at her despondently, daring her to give the inevitable lecture. “No more Flamebird,” she said predictably.

The blonde folded her arms. “I didn’t know he was connected to you guys,” she said coolly.

“I believe you. But Bette, this life isn’t just about revenge. And it’s a lot harder than it looks. This wasn’t why I agreed to teach you self-defense. You could have been killed and it would be my responsibility,” Barbara replied evenly.

“It was my choice. I needed to bring him to justice, so I did.” There was a hint of pleading in her otherwise haughty tone.

“No more Flamebird,” Barbara repeated firmly. “I mean it, Bette. I will stop you if I have to.”

“I know,” she said quietly.

There were a tense few minutes before Bette finally turned and headed inside the back door of her building, not caring much for stealth as she made her way up the several flights of stairs to her apartment.

He was waiting for her, just inside the balcony door, helmet and mask discarded.

“You didn’t tell me you knew the Bats,” he said, pushing off from the wall and taking a few steps towards her.

“I went to school with Barbara. But I think there’s a few things you failed to tell me, Hood, or Jason, or whoever you are,” she said sharply, pulling off her goggles and tossing them aside.

He stood before her, a look of arrogant indifference on his face. They were at eye level, about the same height. And he was definitely in her personal space. It was easy to forget that he was a few years younger.

“I told you no more surprise visits to my apartment,” Bette said quietly, willing her eyes not to flutter closed when he reached out a hand to caress her cheek.

“I want to keep seeing you,” said Jason and there was a hint of earnestness in his voice. His big blue eyes looked so youthful and beseeching. This wasn’t just a hardened vigilante; he was beneath it all, just an angry, confused young man, seeking approval.

He had kissed her once or twice, but she had pushed him away with a disdainful smirk and toss of her hair. As though wondering how dared to think he was even in her league. And then he would brush off her rejection with a sarcastic comment.

“I can’t be Flamebird anymore,” she said sadly.

“Why? Cuz Bats told you not to?” he scoffed impatiently, hand falling to his side.

“I finished what I set out to do. It’s just not me. At least not right now. I feel like one day it could be me,” she said.

“There’s still people out there like him! You can’t just quit!” he insisted.

“I’m sorry, Jason.”

This time when he kissed her, she kissed back, encouraging him to put his hands on her hips and pull her closer. He was nuzzling her neck before she finally snapped back out of it.

“You should go,” she murmured.

“Can I see you again?”

“Maybe. You know where I live.”

****************

* * *

 

They were staying the night in Gotham again. Barbara managed to talk Alfred into pouring her a glass of wine instead of a cup of tea before she headed up to their room. Taking advantage of the large tub in the bathroom, she drew a bubble bath and sunk in to soak with her wine.

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” she said lazily, not particularly worried about modesty.

“Hey,” said Dick softly. “That looks nice.”

“You should join me,” she said with a small smile.

He closed the door again and began stripping. Barbara sat up so he could climb into the hot water then settled back against his chest.

“How’s Tim?” she asked after a few minutes.

“Better, but he felt bad. Said he’d give up being Robin if we wanted him to. I told him absolutely not.” He played with a handful of bubbles.

“Good. And Bruce?”

“On his way to visit Ra’s and Talia,” he answered with a hint of exasperation. “He took the jet.”

Barbara had run the DNA from the hair she collected three times. It was a perfect match for Jason Todd each time. When she showed the results to Bruce, he had ran the test again himself, still not convinced, and even had the grave dug up.

“How are you doing?” he asked softly in her ear.

“Fine,” she replied shortly, taking a sip of wine.

“Barbara …”

“I should have seen it, Dick. It was so obvious. A blonde woman helping Red Hood go after Ackerman? I was the one who showed her how to fight and use weapons. It’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not, Barbara. She made her own choice.”

“Only after I told her I was too busy to solve her case. Too busy with my own damn problems to help a friend. What kind of person does that?”

“One who’s only human and is trying her best to do everything and be a hero,” he said gently. “Babs, why did you start giving Bette self-defense lessons in the first place?”

“I thought it would help her,” she replied dully. “I thought the empowerment, the reminder that she is strong enough to get through things, would help her get over her kidnapping.”

“You had the best of intentions. She was probably inspired by you,” he said, kissing her neck lightly.

 “I just don’t want us to fall out again,” said Barbara with a sigh. “It was nice having a friend on the outside…”

He rubbed her shoulders. “You told her to stop?”

“Yes, but I have a feeling we haven’t really seen the last of Flamebird. Or Red Hood,” she said wearily, leaning into his touch.

It was Dick’s turn to sigh; he reached for her glass of wine and took a drink before handing it back to her.

“It’s not your fault either,” she said pointedly, draining the glass and setting it aside.

“I know, Bruce should have known it wasn’t Jason’s body,” Dick replied, almost mechanically, like he didn’t really believe it. “I just wish he had come home.”

“Sweetie, he’s not coming home. He’s Jason, but he’s not our Jason anymore,” Barbara said firmly. Whatever happened to him, it had changed him; that much was very clear.

“I’m not giving up on him.”

“I know. It’s one of the things I love about you. You never give up on people,” she said, turning around to face him. “You’re always there for the people you care about.”

“Doesn’t always feel that way. I did quit the team, remember?” he said, somewhat bitterly.

“No one blames you. And if you miss it, you can always come back,” she said evenly, placing a hand on his cheek.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Not now, not yet.”

She leaned forward to kiss him passionately.

Water splashed over the sides.


	9. Epilogue

Barbara stood with Kaldur on the Watchtower as they finished the reports from the last mission. They were exhausted but most of the team had conveniently disappeared leaving them to finish up the last of the work together.

“Well, figured out where Tim and Cassie ran off to,” she said with a derisive snort as she toggled through the security feeds. “Watch this.” The two teens on the screen casually walked down a hallway, then disappeared out of range of one camera. When she switched over to the other, the corner of Robin’s cape was just barely visible in one corner.

Kaldur smiled slightly. “Some things on this team never change,” he said affectionately.

“I told her about that spot. It’s this little alcove just barely big enough for two people to squeeze into and out of range.”

“Is Batman aware there’s an area the cameras don’t reach?” he said, frowning slightly.

“I don’t know. I know some of the Leaguers are. I’ve seen Dinah and Ollie disappear here before. And Dick is the one who told me about it in the first place,” she replied thoughtfully.

“Hm, I would hate to take its usefulness away but from a security standpoint …”

“I know, but I think it’s okay since it is an inner corridor and there are cameras all around,” said Barbara.

“I trust your judgement,” said Kaldur. He lowered his voice slightly and asked, “How is he?”

Barbara sighed; she didn’t need him to elaborate on who he was referring to.

“Better, some of the time. I’m doing everything I can. The thing with Jason really shook him up. I think he even feels guilty because he got his brother back but you and Artemis …” she trailed off. Without thinking about it, she brought up live satellite image of the Arctic Circle.

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “He doesn’t need to. I have since made peace with Tula’s death. Even if she were to come back tomorrow … I will call him. I haven’t made much of an effort to stay in touch. I don’t think I’ve seen him since …”

“Since our impromptu pool party?” Barbara finished with a small smile.

“Finding out about Artemis was probably the best thing that could have happened,” he said, dropping his hand from her shoulder.

“Yeah, I still can’t believe she’s pregnant.”

They looked at the screen, at the sunlit North Pole.

Barbara frowned, blinking and leaning forward. She could have sworn she just saw something.

But no, it couldn’t be. It was probably just her mind playing tricks on her because she was thinking of a certain redheaded speedster.

There it was again. A faint flash of color.

She turned to Kaldur, finding him looking back at her with the same alarmed expression.

“Did you just see what I just saw?”

“Zoom in,” he requested quickly. Her fingers flew over the keyboard.

There was no mistaking it. It was no trick of the light. They both clearly saw a flash of yellow and red, zooming by, not quite tangible, but still very present.

“Oh my God,” Barbara said faintly. Her legs suddenly felt very weak. “Wally …”

“He’s … there, somehow … I don’t understand.”

“You were there, Kaldur. There was no body, right? He just vanished! He’s trapped or out of phase or something,” she said quickly. She turned and started for the door.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“Dick will want to know this. And Artemis and the rest of the team.”

“Hold up, maybe we shouldn’t tell them right away,” he said slowly, putting a hand up.

“No, we’re not being leaders who keep secrets anymore,” she insisted, folding her arms resolutely.

“Barbara, just listen to me. We don’t know what exactly we saw here. And even if it is Wally,” he hesitated, looking pained, “what if we can’t get him back? It will just get everyone’s hopes up and crush them again.”

“No, you’re wrong. Dick would never give up on trying to bring him back. This is enough proof for him. This is his best friend we’re talking about.”

“I still think we should at least gather more information. Take spectrum readings of the arctic. Perhaps even do some ground research before alerting everyone,” Kaldur insisted. Barbara still wasn’t convinced. “Look, I understand your hesitancy. Unfortunately, as leaders, we need to make decisions for the good of the team. Telling them that we think we can get Wally back only to find that this was nothing or that it is impossible would be as devastating as losing him all over again.”

“I don’t like keeping secrets from Dick.”

“I understand but it won’t be for as long as the last time. Let’s gather more data to present before we tell everyone,” he said calmly.

“One week,” said Barbara flatly, walking back over to the monitors. “That’s it. We record footage of the pole, measure fluctuations in the magnetic field, take spectrum readings on all wavelengths, and we will make a trip there ourselves,” she was saying as she typed the commands into the mainframe.

“In one week, we present our findings, whether we believe Wally can return or not,” Kaldur agreed.


End file.
